Pandora Boutique

During the short period elapsed from 1989 until the present, Cluj Street, an important route connecting the south of the city with its center, has radically changed. From a large, typically residential boulevard that sheltered inter-war buildings receding from the street alignment, Cluj Street has turned into a bustling avenue, pulsating with the life of daily trade and services, along which beautiful old houses, climbing one on top of the other, reach out to passersby.

These are the circumstances under which our small construction has taken shape. The client – a family of young engineers – had a special wish: not to construct, on their strategically placed plot of land at the crossroads of Cluj Street with 1 Decembrie Street, a kiosk. Although it would have been much easier for them, the young couple chose to do something else, at the cost of steady efforts.

The building presented by us is but the early materialization of an overpowering phenomenon with which the architects are trying to cope honorably. The client's corner house itself is about to witness the construction of upper floors in the future and become the headquarters of a firm or a club, in direct relation to the present structure. Under the circumstances, it is estimated that its current function – a shop and snack bar – will undergo alterations. It has already undergone several alterations along the way; since the original project contemplated a shorter building, it should have been organically confined within the existing fence, made of brick uncovered with plaster, and presenting a special touch: an entrance cover designed like a green tray on an independent metal structure. However, the client wanted travertine; such material has therefore been consistently used, from the indoor space to the outdoor one. The pilasters of the fence have also been covered in travertine.

The furniture has been made in organic relation with the construction, and the mobile pieces, especially the ordinary and the bar chairs, reiterate the motif of the entrance cover, on a smaller scale. At a time when architectural kitsch is more present than ever, even on Cluj Street, with a few examples right next to us, we have opted for a simple and modern design, both indoors and outdoors.

TEAM

AWARDS

Andreescu and Gaivoronschi
associated architects

Piata Sfantu Gheorghe no 4, ap 10 Timisoara
tel +40 256 306042