the house of the Two BalconiesThe story begins with a house built between the two wars, on a 204 square meter plot of land located in an important part of Bucharest, in the Aviatorilor area. A modest house, ground floor and first floor, without having anything particularly special. Maybe just a small balcony, but chic and generous open to the street and passers-by, having a transparent parapet made of riveted wrought iron elements, specific to those times. Later, the land was encroached upon by three other worthless single-story cottages, which suffocated the original house. It was as if only the balcony was still able to breathe, shouting its displeasure at the passers-by in the street.When I started thinking about the recovery, rehabilitation and transformation project, this detail caught my attention. I thought that the new architectural proposal should protect the old balcony, letting it continue its story of the events it went through. So, we kept the outline of the houses, we compartmentalized according to the new needs and because it was wanted, we also thought of a new balcony in another part of the house. Larger and having a modern, current form, the latter closes, perhaps unusually, towards the street, for curious passers-by and the houses opposite, opening naturally to the nearby park and respectfully to the old balcony.The final result is the one in the pictures. I know many are wondering why I kept the old balcony, or why I didn’t give it a new coat to continue the style of the new house. The truth is that the visual dialogue, discreet and sensitive, carried on between the old balcony and the young confrere seemed to me essential and welcome in this integration effort.The Old and the Young together.
