Located at 12 I.C. Bratianu Street, on the ground floor of the former urban residence of Carol I, the site invites a reflection on functional reconversion - prompted by the structural transformations introduced through the building’s consolidation process.
The intervention proposes the encasement and volumetric extension of the existing columns, increasing their size by nearly fifty percent. The program itself is distinctive: the client operates a medical props store within this historic shell. Seeking to recover the spatial integrity of the original residence, the project reimagines the interior as an operating room — one stripped of any overt commercial nature. The walls enclosing the main hall are composed of a continuous metal band, precisely cut and shaped wherever function required. Each necessary element has been carved into this metallic skin that envelops the room on all four sides.
The result is a contained monolith, discreetly hosting all the functional needs of a commercial space while preserving the subtlety and tension of a surgical theater prepared in advance. A specific functional demand further influenced the design: the space must occasionally be cleared to accommodate first-year medical students each autumn, before being reoccupied afterward. This led to the creation of an instrument table that can glide beneath the reception desk and return to position above the central steel plate when needed. At the rear, a single “portal” connects the main hall to a secondary area that conceals a generous wardrobe and a display for larger medical equipment, alongside the fitting rooms.
The intervention proposes the encasement and volumetric extension of the existing columns, increasing their size by nearly fifty percent. The program itself is distinctive: the client operates a medical props store within this historic shell. Seeking to recover the spatial integrity of the original residence, the project reimagines the interior as an operating room — one stripped of any overt commercial nature. The walls enclosing the main hall are composed of a continuous metal band, precisely cut and shaped wherever function required. Each necessary element has been carved into this metallic skin that envelops the room on all four sides.
The result is a contained monolith, discreetly hosting all the functional needs of a commercial space while preserving the subtlety and tension of a surgical theater prepared in advance. A specific functional demand further influenced the design: the space must occasionally be cleared to accommodate first-year medical students each autumn, before being reoccupied afterward. This led to the creation of an instrument table that can glide beneath the reception desk and return to position above the central steel plate when needed. At the rear, a single “portal” connects the main hall to a secondary area that conceals a generous wardrobe and a display for larger medical equipment, alongside the fitting rooms.
MEDICAL STORE
for A PRIVATE CLIENT
year: 2021
location: Bucharest, RO
status: concept
team: Oana Bălan, Flavius Busuioc
services: interior architecture
for A PRIVATE CLIENT
year: 2021
location: Bucharest, RO
status: concept
team: Oana Bălan, Flavius Busuioc
services: interior architecture
