Mora35 Apartment / Sculpta

Architects: sculpta
Area: 52 m²
Year: 2021
Photography: Vlad Pătru
City: Bucharest
Country: Romania

An aristocratic residential project designed by sculpta in Bucharest, Romania, revitalizes a historical space from the mid-twentieth century. Completed in 2021, this project transforms a compact 52-square-meter area within a postwar building into a modern home that harmonizes timeless aesthetics with smart home functionality. The design strategically employs natural materials such as wood and brass against a backdrop of white walls and floors to maximize spatial perception while maintaining simplicity. Unique design elements like brass plinths and sill-less doors enhance the architectural dialogue within the space, emphasizing its height and depth. Smart technologies allow seamless control of the home, blending historic charm with contemporary comfort. Solid oak furniture and thoughtful lighting arrangements contribute to a balanced interior that respects the original structure’s character while introducing modern living comforts.

A small space, hidden in a postwar building within an aristocratic residential neighborhood shaped by the mid-20th-century aesthetic and cultural vision of the elites, was discovered by the architects untouched. The now-yellowed walls, dusty terracotta stoves, and solid wood flooring retained the ambiance of yesteryear.

The client wished to transform the space into a timeless home that would preserve and enhance the value of the place through materiality while providing the technological comfort of a smart home. In defining the spatiality of a two-bedroom apartment within just 52 square meters, colors, textures, and materials that could clutter and overwhelm the space were minimized, allowing natural materials to take center stage. Wood, brass, and white walls became the defining textures.

The interior decor appears simple at first glance: white walls, white doors, and a unifying wooden floor with stereotomy that emphasizes a careful design, creating a continuous dialogue across spaces. Brass frieze inserts trace the lines of the furniture, while parquet boards turn to highlight passages. Discreet details give the space a unique identity beyond the simple aesthetic. The brass plinth creates a negative space at the wall-floor junction, giving the illusion that it supports the wall’s weight, while the horizontal plane below moves freely, seemingly defying space limits. Light touching the plinth creates reflections that follow a continuous, perimetral path.

Doors without sills stand tall with slim profiles, emphasizing the room’s height. Instead of sills, a small brass band outlines the doors, meeting the brass plinth at both ends. White wooden windows feature a perimetral sill, framing views to the outside. The direct relationship between the living room and bedroom, common in mid-century design, was preserved and highlighted by a harmonic metallic door resembling a “gate.”

Brass adorns the white kitchen front, where reflections create depth and spatiality. Beyond aesthetics, the apartment features smart-home technology, offering remote control of lighting, thermostats, roller shutters, heating, and cooling.

Solid oak furniture, sculpted for each space, reinforces the timeless character. Sculptural lights and round motifs establish balance and hierarchy, preventing dominance conflicts. To the left of the bed, a tall luminaire on a slender bedside table contrasts with a suspended luminaire over a heavy bedside table. In this perpetual compositional dialogue, elements support one another, inviting the viewer to find balance.