Abstract

This paper intends to present an industrial heritage related project that was completed through collaborative design. In Romania, communist dictatorship ended 20 years ago. Since then, following 50 years of neglect, various projects have been undertaken to renovate heritage buildings. Industrial heritage buildings are a special case, as their sites are targeted by developers (because of their sizes and central locations) who want to demolish them in order to build new residential/ commercial/ business centers. The project of transforming “Cartea Romaneasca” Printing House, initially a B-type heritage building, into a mixed-use complex—Metropolis Center—while keeping the heritage building and the listed facade is an example of how restored structures and new buildings can be successfully accommodated. The project was developed by “Plus Arhitectura,” an international architecture studio jointly run by Letiţia Bărbuică, from Bucharest, Peter Torniov from Vienna, and Stefan Petkov from Sofia. The project was published in the local architectural magazine “Architectura,” the official publication of the Board of Architects of Romania, and selected as a representative heritage project for BAB 2011 (Bucharest Architecture Biennial). This paper attempts to bring forward a set of solutions that have been found for various problems posed by the project: a structural solution meant to keep the old facade above the underground parking, modern windows to match the original look of the heritage building, and a new extension.