URBAN HOTEL

UAUIM - Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urban Planning

Idea projektu

The central idea of the project is to re-establish a strong spatial and visual connection between Bucharest City Hall and the Dâmbovița River. To support this relationship, the main volume of the hotel is placed laterally, thus liberating the center of the square and allowing for an open, uninterrupted urban flow between the two landmarks.
The suspended reception and the elevated restaurant above it reinforce this dialogue, turning the hotel into a mediator between civic and natural elements.
Preserving the existing building shell plays a secondary but contextual role—it offers an opportunity to anchor the new intervention while respecting the urban memory of the site.

Popis projektu

The hotel is located next to Bucharest City Hall and carefully inserted into its urban context.
• The main hotel body is placed along the lateral edge of the site, allowing the central space in front of the City Hall to remain open and publicly accessible.
• A suspended volume houses the reception on the first floor, maintaining a symbolic and functional bridge between the City Hall and the river.
• Above the reception, the restaurant takes advantage of its elevation and orientation, offering double views—both toward Dâmbovița and toward the City Hall.
• The existing building is preserved as an exterior shell, into which public functions are inserted, creating a layered dialogue between old and new.
• The guest rooms are arranged in a double-tract system for clarity and comfort. The building is wrapped in foldable translucent panels, which provide privacy for the rooms while giving the volume a delicate and light appearance within the cityscape.

This urban hotel becomes more than just accommodation—it’s a spatial instrument that opens up connections, protects memory, and redefines presence with sensitivity and clarity.

Technické informace

The structural system of the new hotel is based on a reinforced concrete frame, composed of columns and beams that define the load-bearing skeleton of the building. This system ensures both flexibility in spatial organization and structural stability.

A key architectural and structural feature is the suspended bridge volume that houses the reception area on the first floor. This element is supported at both ends by concrete piers (pile), which act as vertical supports. The bridge itself functions as a large steel truss (grindă cu zăbrele), allowing it to span the open central space without intermediate supports, thus maintaining the visual and functional connection between Bucharest City Hall and the Dâmbovița River.

The existing building on site has been integrated into the project by preserving its exterior walls, which were structurally consolidated. These façades are now supported by a new reinforced concrete structure positioned directly behind them, allowing the insertion of new interior functions without compromising the historical shell. This solution enables a layered architectural reading—historic envelope in front, contemporary infrastructure behind.

The façade system of the new volume uses foldable translucent panels that are suspended from the concrete structure, offering both privacy for hotel rooms and a refined, lightweight aesthetic. These panels can be adjusted depending on climatic conditions and user preference, adding a layer of flexibility and dynamic response to the envelope.

Overall, the combination of modern concrete framing, suspended truss engineering, and respectful integration with the historic façade creates a project that is both structurally innovative and contextually sensitive.

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