At the intersection of Gabriel Garcia Marquez' and James Joyce's imaginations, somewhere, let's say, near 75 meridian and 53 parallel, let's say then that there was a harbor in a British colony at the end of the year 1800s"¦ The concept was born approximately three years ago, when the owners of the restaurant in Amzei Square actually thought of opening a pub. The architect enlivened his solution by proposing the above mentioned concept, which replaced the common city watering hole with an equally urban one, but original because of its harbor provenience and narrative content.
PROIECT: ARH. ANDA MANU, ARH. STEFAN ALBERTO BIANCO
TEXT: SILVIA GUGU
FOTO: SERBAN BONCIOCAT

Architecture (in the contemporary meaning of the word) sometimes seems to me as ambiguous, captivating and capable of metamorphosing as a Chinese shadow with seven heads and seven tongues. Or much more than that. However, if that would be the case, the architect Mihai Moldoveanu would be hidden in one of the heads. In a recent meeting I found out that besides architecture, Mihai Moldoveanu studied fine arts; that his postgraduate training represented an experience in set design, at the Buftea studios; that he regards photography as an instrument (just like drawing) of illustrating architecture and not necessarily a purpose in itself; that he obtained his doctorate in art history at the Sorbonne University in Paris; that, among others, he is a writer, having published a series of books and articles concerning art history; but I was blown away to find that, notwithstanding the above mentioned, he confessed that, as far as he is concerned, he considers himself a painter.
TEXT: SILVIA GUGU
FOTO: MIHAI MOLDOVEANU

The theme of the project was the round shape. And, as roundness is the adequate shape for mobile things, a 10 thousand sqm building resulted, a circularly developed area, for a brand that embodies movement itself and all the technical know-how in the use of materials, electronics, mechanics and speed! The building's cylinder is invigorated by a series of surfaces and out of parallel bodies, which, at the first levels, mean sandwich type frontons, ordered in the Netherlands, plated with alucobond boxes bent on a large range, one of them bearing, written in red, the name of the brand. The distance between these two bodies marks the main access, which is done by a concrete bridge with stainless steel balustrade. The building, with six floors and basement also accessible from the outside by stairs that descend the slope with lawn and shrubbery all around it, is suspended on three concrete pillars joined by a metallic crown. There are some coupling bars sustaining the entire building. This is the "find" of the project! If the basement is reserved to the cafeteria and conference and course rooms, the ground floor is the space meant for receptions that continue the general route of the building or for the presentation of the Porsche 911 Boxter Roadster or Cayenne.
PROIECTANT: ARHITECT SERVICE, ARH. CONSTANTIN CIUREA
TEXT: LUIZA ZAMORA
FOTO: SERBAN BONCIOCAT