Outbox Studio was established in 2014 in Bucharest by four partners. Currently, it is led by three of the founders: Petru Darida, Gruia Dumitrescu, and Dimitrie Zerva. Within our office we believe in an architecture that improves the user’s quality of life. We apply all our experience to benefit the client, listening to all ideas and considering each client's specific needs. We also aim to respect and complement the existing architectural context with our proposals, thinking "outside the box" to support innovative yet context-sensitive ideas.
Cristina studied architecture and urban planning in Montréal and Munich. She later worked at 03 Arch. GmbH in Munich, where she managed complex integrated urban studies and strategies in an interdisciplinary manner, collaborating with experts from adjacent fields, and engaging citizens and public administrations via participatory workshops. As a teaching assistant in Munich, under the guidance of Prof. Uta Graff, Cristina taught first-year students principles of architectural design and drawing. Until 2020, she was a member of the Bavarian Chamber of Architects. In Romania, she founded Plan C and kept participating in international competitions in sustainable urban design and housing, spanning scales from 36 to 124 ha. She adopts an integrated planning approach and prioritizes understanding local contexts, inclusive and age-friendly planning practices, advocates for sustainability, while emphasizing both aesthetics and functionality.
Project description in English
Our project began in 2019 with the clients assignment to design a semi-detached house on a 800-square-meter plot. The goal was to design flexible and accessible housing that would accommodate multi-generational living. This required addressing the needs of both families with children and aging residents, ensuring that the living spaces were generous yet efficiently organized.
The plot is situated in Chitila, near Lake Chitila close to the Dendrologic Park. The area boasts quality infrastructure, access to green spaces, public utilities, and urban indicators conveying a balanced suburban development.
Our design solution features a simple volumetric form, accentuated by using a light-colored, desaturated exposed brick inspired by the natural hues of yellow clay. By alternating the vertical arrangement of the brickwork, we aimed to break the monotony of the façade, subtly highlighting the volumetric details without detracting from the overall monoblock appearance. From a distance, the structure presents a unified and coherent image, which might seem bland to some. However, upon closer inspection, the subtle details become more apparent.
In the architectural design, matte metallic elements in various shades of gray are harmoniously integrated into the building, enhancing the linearity and precision of the details. Structurally, a significant challenge was constructing the ground floor without corner pillars on the long exterior side. Therefore, the relationship between the windows and the volumetry emphasizes the building's sculptural quality.
The layout of the houses is characterized by simplicity and efficiency, offering flexibility through the inclusion of a ground-floor bedroom with a dressing room and private bathroom, separated from the living area. The entire ground floor is designed to support flexible and accessible living. The volume of the first floor allows for the creation of two independent volumes that define the housing units and underline the concept of coherent coupled dwellings. The ground-floor area along the shared wall contains technical spaces, bathrooms, and dressing rooms, which are all illuminated and ventilated by skylights.
Overall, the semi-detached house project embodies a simple architectural solution with balanced interior and exterior spaces. It achieves a visually impactful aesthetic and formal unity, complying to contemporary housing principles, while equally fulfilling the clients requirements.
