INTERIORS I Bucharest
Florentine-Moorish architecture, a defining feature of many of Bucharest's houses and apartment buildings of the 1930s, is distinguished by calcio vecchio plaster finishes, twisted columns with floral capitals, elegant arches, sculpted corbels and richly ornamented surrounds. It is an architectural language that celebrates life itself.
Over the past six years, the team at Cumulus Architecture has brought one such architectural gem back to life. Through a series of carefully calibrated interventions, a sensitive dialogue between heritage and innovation, and a deeply human-centred approach to living, they have restored the house's original splendour. The greatest challenge lay in reintegrating its historic architectural details into a structure that was comprehensively reconfigured, both internally and, in part, externally.
Designed by architects Eliza Yokina, Andrei Butușină, Magda Vieriu and Adrian Perdica of Cumulus Architecture, the project is a compelling example of how architectural heritage can be preserved while being thoughtfully reinterpreted for contemporary living. The project was recognised with the Residential Interior Architecture Award at the 23rd Bucharest Architecture Annual (2025).
The result is a contemporary home that honours the building's historic character while offering its owners a place with a strong sense of identity—one where they can live according to their own rhythm and way of life, while enjoying the levels of comfort, technology and functionality expected today.
The intervention unfolded between 2020 and 2025 and required three separate planning approvals: two for the main residence and one for the extension of the garden pavilion, together with the addition of a steel walkway connecting it to the vertically extended main house. The principal volume was expanded upwards, while the arched windows were redesigned to maximise natural daylight. Particular attention was paid to the building's eastern orientation, allowing the morning sun to fill the principal bedroom and guest room before gradually illuminating the rest of the house throughout the day.
Spatial reconfiguration proved fundamental to redefining the interior programme and establishing a clear sequence between the social and private areas of the home. Two dramatic double-height spaces—the orangery and the dining room—became the spatial heart of the residence and its most remarkable living environments. They are complemented by the main living room and the outdoor pavilion, both of which open onto the garden, extending the interiors seamlessly into the surrounding landscape.
cumulus.ro
Photography by Cătălin Georgescu
Words by Luminița Diculescu
Discover the full version of this story in Volume V.