Tag: Architecture of Romania

Tour in west Cotroceni

Tour in west Cotroceni

Valentin Mandache
Cotroceni west-004
Medical Sciences University, west Cotroceni

Dear readers,

I would like to propose you an architectural history tour, in the western part of the picturesque Cotroceni quarter, which contains the grandiose edifices of the Medical Sciences University and the Palace of the President of Romania. The tour completes my series of distinct walks (east, central and west) covering this architecturally valuable area of Bucharest.

The event is scheduled to take place this Saturday 19 June 2021, between 11.30h - 13.30h. This cultural excursion could be of interest to any of you visiting Romania’s capital as a tourist or on business, looking to understand the character of this metropolis through discovering its peculiar and fascinating old architecture.

The most beautiful baroque revival style palace of Bucharest is the Medical Sciences University, the best such school in southeast Europe, designed by the Swiss architect Louis Blanc, and built in 1902, which is at the centre of west Cotroceni. Its aesthetics is auspiciously put into light by the the surrounding elegant built environment, one of the finest in the capital. You are thus going to sample, under my guidance, many Read more →

Vernacular architecture in Southeastern Romania (Baragan Prairie)

Valentin Mandache

The architecture of the peasant houses from the Baragan Prairie of southeast Romania, got contoured starting with the first decades of the 18th c, representing a sui generis synthesis between the type of houses from the Transylvanian Alps and the Great Bend of the Carpathians, encountered among the local Romanian and Hungarian (Szekler) communities, and from what is now central Bulgaria, in regions such as Plovdiv, which in that period were representing the core of the Ottoman culture and power in the northern Balkans. In this video I am charting that process of architectural coalescence between the vernacular architectures to the north and the south of the Baragan Prairie, which we can still admire and examine today in the villages of southeast Romania.

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My aim, through this series of blog articles, is to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania and Southeast Europe, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of world’s architectural history and heritage.

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If you have a historic house project in Romania or other country in Southeast Europe, I would be delighted to advise you in aspects pertaining to its architectural history and ways to preserve as much as possible from its period fabric and aesthetics in the course of restoration or renovation works, or to counsel you with specialist consultancy work related to that project. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this website.

On the regional variations of the Neo-Romanian style

Valentin Mandache

The national architectural style of Romania, the Neo-Romanian, has not only a time evolution component, but also a development in space, among within the different regions making up this country in southeast Europe. Its three main provinces, Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, have developed distinct histories, cultures and mentalities throughout centuries, a fact reflected in the manner in which they adopted and adapted the national architectural style, which emerged in the modern era, when those provinces got unified within Romania. This is a completely unresearched aspect of the Neo-Romanian architecture, and the my presentation here is a first attempt in fixating the main coordinates of analysing the regional variations of this style of architectural design.

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My aim, through this series of blog articles, is to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania and Southeast Europe, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of world’s architectural history and heritage.

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If you have a historic house project in Romania or other country in Southeast Europe, I would be delighted to advise you in aspects pertaining to its architectural history and ways to preserve as much as possible from its period fabric and aesthetics in the course of restoration or renovation works, or to counsel you with specialist consultancy work related to that project. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this website.

Considerations on the Wallachian architectural style (aka Brancovan)

Valentin Mandache

The Wallachian style, is a highly original architecture and decorative arts design, which developed within the confines of the Principality of Wallachia, a Christian protectorate of the Ottoman Empire, during the period of stability and prosperity of this great state between the late 17th c and throughout the 18th c. It is a synthesis between local Byzantine traditions, together with Islamic ones, at which is added European Baroque and Renaissance elements. The style is usually named Brancovan or Brancovenesc, which in my opinion is incorrect, not properly and precisely reflecting its geographical and civilisational locus in Wallachia. This video details for you this important chapter of the arts and architecture of the early modern southeast Europe, which has been crucial for the development of the the later Neo-Romanian style, the national style of Romania.

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My aim, through this series of blog articles, is to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania and Southeast Europe, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of world’s architectural history and heritage.

***********************************************

If you have a historic house project in Romania or other country in Southeast Europe, I would be delighted to advise you in aspects pertaining to its architectural history and ways to preserve as much as possible from its period fabric and aesthetics in the course of restoration or renovation works, or to counsel you with specialist consultancy work related to that project. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this website.

Why the ocean liner theme characterises the Art Deco architecture of Bucharest?

Valentin Mandache

I noticed, from my field trips, that Bucharest’s 1930s Art Deco architecture is characterised in an ample proportion by the ocean liner theme, in much larger degree than other capitals in central and southeast Europe. Why was that the case for a town at over 200 km distance from a seashore, and from a region and country that was landlocked for much of its history, without a seafaring tradition? There were a series of captivating economic, social, and sentimental/ emotional factors and personalities at play, which concurred in producing that result, detailed in this video.

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My aim, through this series of blog articles, is to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania and Southeast Europe, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of world’s architectural history and heritage.

***********************************************

If you have a historic house project in Romania or other country in Southeast Europe, I would be delighted to advise you in aspects pertaining to its architectural history and ways to preserve as much as possible from its period fabric and aesthetics in the course of restoration or renovation works, or to counsel you with specialist consultancy work related to that project. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this website.

Balchik - local geology and architecture

Valentin Mandache

The historic architecture is in a much larger proportion conditioned by the local geology than is the case with the modern one. The availability of local stone, clay, pigments and other materials found in local quarries or ground influence the motifs and design of buildings in a location. In this video I discuss how the geology of the western shore of the Black Sea, especially the area around the seaside town of Balchik in Bulgaria, which in the interwar period was a sort of “Saint Tropez” of neighbouring Romania, conditions the architectural designs there.

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I endeavour through this series of periodic articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and heritage.

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If you plan acquiring or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advise you in sourcing and transacting the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.

Convergences between the 17th c architectures of Spain and the Balkans

Valentin Mandache

There is amazement among participants at my architectural tours who come from Spain or Portugal of how familiar the architecture of 17th and 18th centuries of Bucharest, the Brancovan or Wallachian style, look to them, similar with designs from the same period in their countries. This video puts forward the most likely explanation for this intersting convergence of architectural forms between the Southwestern and Southwestern corners of Europe.

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I endeavour through this series of periodic articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and heritage.

***********************************************

If you plan acquiring or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advise you in sourcing and transacting the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.

Radio Romania building - Fascist architecture in Stalinist times

Valentin Mandache

A brief about the building hosting Radio Romania, the national broadcasting station in that country, which is a Mussolinian/ Italian Fascist era design, but built at the height of Stalinism in that part of the world, in 1952. It shows through this architectural example that there is a convergence of ideas and forms between those two ideologically messianic dictatorships, and that the architects serving one of those regimes can find employment in the new dictatorship.

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I endeavour through this series of periodic articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and heritage.

***********************************************

If you plan acquiring or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advise you in sourcing and transacting the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.

The structural entrails of a Bucharest Little Paris style house

Valentin Mandache

Examination of structural details exposed on a Little Paris style house in ruin, in Berthelot area of Bucharest. Although this is a tragedy for the local heritage, at least among the complete indifference of most of the local public, the few of us who care about the built heritage can examine at close quarter how those houses were built and what type of material were used more than a century ago during the La Belle Epoque period. This knowledge can prove useful when the tide of public opinion will turn into the favour of preserving such buildings.

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I endeavour through this series of periodic articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and heritage.

***********************************************

If you plan acquiring or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advise you in sourcing and transacting the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.

Permuting Art Deco symbols on a 1930s facade

Valentin Mandache

An interesting case of three Art Deco panels symbolising economic activities insured by an insurance company, permuting on the facade design of the building which in the 1930s headquartered that Bucharest insurance company on Edgar Quinet Street.

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I endeavour through this series of periodic articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and heritage.

***********************************************

If you plan acquiring or selling a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advise you in sourcing and transacting the property, specialist research, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.