OPEN HOUSE
In this project, we took on the role of mediators between the commercial requirements of the client and the real needs of future users, with the objective of transforming a home intended for sale into a space with identity and meaning. We aimed to bring added value to a small home through carefully thought-out functional planning and through using an architectural language capable of supporting various lifestyles, without losing its coherence.
The home was designed for sale, which posed a challenge: how can we design a space that remains relevant, functional and appealing to as wide a range of potential buyers as possible, without becoming impersonal? We believe that architecture intended for sale should not be neutral to the point of emptiness. On the contrary, it can function as a generous and well-articulated background, which supports adaptation, but also inspires.
Together with the client, we built an imaginary end-user profile and translated this hypothesis into a flexible design brief. The size of the land oriented us towards a single-level home, organized around a private courtyard with a swimming pool, garden and terrace. The volumetric solution proposes two distinct bodies: the living area, developed in a volume with a roof structure and generous height, and the night area, consisting of a master bedroom with its own bathroom, two secondary bedrooms with shared bathroom, guest bathroom, storage and technical room, in a volume with a lower height and with a flat roof.
Type
General Information
+| Location: | Otopeni, Ilfov |
| Area: | 220 sqm |
| Year: | 2023-2024 |
| Status: | completed |
Project Team
+| Architecture: | arch. Monica Crețu |
| Photos: | arch. Anatol Struna |
The relationship with the exterior is carefully calibrated: the front yard, with a width of 8 meters, integrates the parking lot and works as a visual filter, with an opaque façade, clad with complementary materials (brick, ceramic, wood), which balances the composition. The living area opens completely to the private courtyard, through a full-height curtain wall, allowing a fluid connection between the interior and exterior. The master bedroom also benefits from generous opening to the garden.
We have introduced a series of elements with the role of visual and affective anchor – details that give personality to a house designed for an unknown user:
A secluded space, immediately behind the main façade, marked by a brick fretted wall, which shelters a tree visible from one of the main bathrooms.
An outdoor storage area discreetly integrated into one of the side facades, without compromising volumetric coherence.
The articulation between the two volumes, treated as a transparent space, allows the visual connection between the main access and the inner courtyard. Here, we proposed planting a tree, a symbol of continuity and a life anchored in nature.
The project offers a balanced response between commercial exigencies and architectural responsibility. Even in a sales-oriented context, we have chosen not to compromise on the quality of the space, natural light, proportions and living potential. We have built a home that does not impose, but offers: the freedom to be transformed, but also a setting with its own character.
Architecture intended for sale should not be neutral to the point of emptiness
On the contrary, it can function as a generous and well-articulated background, which supports adaptation, but also inspires.
