House with three courtyards

Galati, Romania

Strassenfront

Photo © Andrei Margulescu

Innenhof

Photo © Andrei Margulescu

Wohnraum

Photo © Andrei Margulescu

Eingangshof

Photo © Andrei Margulescu

Zimmer

Photo © Andrei Margulescu

Single Houses

Architects: ahaa

Location: Bulevardul G. Cosbuc, Galati, Romania
Year: 2013

The existing “wagon house” on a classic long and narrow plot of land typical for Romania had developed over generations through the traditional connecting of rooms one after the other. Like many others of its kinds, it no longer met the current usage requirements in any way and was to be demolished or abandoned.

The two basic problems of this type, lighting and access to every room, are solved by a simple but radical architectural gesture. The structural fabric of the building is largely preserved and allows the residents to continue living in a home steeped in history.

By incorporating a long living room on the side and at the same time transforming one indoor room into a central outdoor space, every room can be accessed directly and lit naturally through the intimate courtyard in front of each one too. Small gable roofs replace the unsound roof and trace the outline of the house’s original cells. As a result, the new living space equally grows out of the existing building and is given its own unique character at the same time. The building shape and homogeneous metal skin are reminiscent of warehouse or commercial buildings and an ironic play on the many parasitic uses that the city’s living quarters have to battle with.