Romanian bookstore fancies with architecture studio in opening an old style library downtown Bucharest

Romanian bookstore chain Carturesti opens a new location in Bucharest, on February 12th, using a monument building that will open again its doors after a quarter of a century, in Romanian capital’s old center.

The new location is named Carturesti Carousel and its opening will be marked with a concert and special video projections. The building is situated in Bucharest’s Old Center, on Lipscani street, and has 6 levels and a total surface of 1,000 square meters.

The new Carturesti location is an experiment of cultural inhabiting the old center and offers dedicated spaces for reading, socializing, and artistic exploration. The building also has a bistro at its top level, a multimedia center in the basement and a contemporary art gallery at the 1st level.

The building itself dates from the 19th century and was owned by Chrissoveloni family of bankers starting 1903. It was confiscated during Communism and turned into a store. After the Romanian Revolution, the building was returned and rehabilitated by its actual owner Jean Chrissoveloni. To be transformed into Carturesti Carousel, the building has its interior carefully arranged, in an innovative manner which gave thorough attention to the historical substance. The architecture bureau which handled the task was Square One.

We structured our proposal around the idea of communication between old and new. Using a contemporary language, we reduce to the minimum the chromatic elements to allow the lights and shadows game generated by the central light well. The sinuous and aerial form of the super-escarpment generates dynamics and add a ludic character to the rhythmic and symmetry of the building, same like a carousel

Square One.