PLAN PATRU was conceived as a transformative space where heritage meets the present, constantly stimulating a community enriched by art, culture, and participatory forms of continuous learning.

Nestled within the historical fabric of a fully restored heritage villa, PLAN PATRU functions as a platform that connects creators and cultural professionals with communities of interest. Our vision was born from a reflection on the potential of art and culture as tools for education and societal change. We celebrate the richness of heritage by integrating diverse voices and perspectives that shape today’s world.

Through a carefully curated program of cultural actions, we invite the public to engage with the past, present, and future in meaningful and transformative ways.

Navigating the complexities and challenges of the present, our space serves as a beacon of possibilities. By collaborating with artists, cultural workers, and community leaders, we seek to generate meaningful connections, fostering dialogue between generations and niches. We believe in the power of culture to bring us together, inspire, and drive change.

Schedule a visit to explore the villa on Plantelor Street No. 4, a building that stands as a testament to the architectural practices and refinements of the late 19th century. You will discover a residence with a unique interior design, capable of hosting private events and cultural initiatives with educational value.

Planning a brand event or nurturing an idea for a short- or long-term cultural project? Let’s get in touch!

Contact us for bookings or collaborations at contact@planpatru.ro.

The villa at Plantelor Street no.4 is a testament to the architectural practices and refinements of the late 19th century. To be restored to its emblematic beauty, the villa underwent a meticulous restoration process, serving as a benchmark for good practices and a catalyst for culture and art in the community it aims to gather. In terms of its significance and the stories it carries, the building can be understood as a vehicle for historical and artistic narratives, currently in the process of exploration and expansion. Our mission is to transform this space into a vibrant cultural residence, attracting a community of enthusiasts engaged in celebrating heritage while being interested in the topics of our times.

The villa on Plantelor Street No. 4, part of the Mântuleasa neighborhood at the end of the 19th century, is composed of two structures: the main house and a secondary building, which used to be the stables. Built in 1891, the main house reflects the eclectic style of the time, with classical and baroque influences, highlighted by the detailed facades and intricate ornamentation. An old linden tree stands proudly in the middle of the courtyard, while the garden, maintained in a simple and open style, allows passersby to admire the nearby houses.

The property, originally owned by Captain Dimitrie Pandele, underwent an expansion in 1897, adding the stables and a new room to the main house. The architectural style of the main house is typical of the isolated bourgeois homes at the end of the 19th century, featuring polygonal facades, a grand entrance, richly decorated windows, and a mansard with two arched windows framed by elaborate ornaments.

The secondary building, with its taller tower, serves as a visual landmark on Plantelor Street and aligns with the style of bourgeois outbuildings, boasting polychrome facades and exposed wooden details. The original wrought iron fence and preserved gates add an extra layer of authenticity to the ensemble.

The recent restoration aimed to preserve as much of the original courtyard composition as possible, including the paving, the central linden tree, and the water basin—elements typical of Bucharest gardens from the late 19th century.

The interior of the residence impresses with the richness and diversity of its decorations. Each room is uniquely decorated, featuring oil mural paintings, decorative plaster profiles, stoves, wood paneling, and stained glass. The mural paintings, signed by Franz Eichele in 1891, enhance the artistic value of the property.

The discovery, consolidation, protection, preservation, and restoration of Captain Dimitrie Pandele’s residence at Plantelor Street No. 4, a class B monument built in 1891 and expanded in 1897, represents a successful case of recovering a lesser-known and, unfortunately, still underestimated heritage in Bucharest’s architectural and artistic history. This project brings to light a model of housing representative for a specific social class from a particular period, of which very few examples remain today. The restoration operations have led to the recovery of an authentic architectural object, testifying to a way of life and a cultural model exhibitive of late 19th-century Bucharest—the home of the middle-class bourgeoisie, more modest than the mansions on Calea Victoriei, but built in the fashion of the time.

Click the button below to explore the story of the rooms in a more detailed study. For a summary, please continue reading.

Text: arh. Cristina Woinaroski

The entrance vestibule, referred to at the time as the anteroom (antreu), dates back to 1897 and was part of the residence’s expansion carried out alongside the construction of the stables. Only the wall decoration has been preserved to this day, discovered beneath layers of paint during the house’s restoration: an oil painting arranged in panels with borders painted in pale pink and light olive colors, featuring central ornamental compositions made up of vine tendrils.

The central hall, octagonal in shape, is one of the main features of the house. Through the multitude and preciousness of the finishes used, it is designed as a space both for welcoming guests and for representing the owners. This is an ascending space, monumental in its richness, with stucco marble finishes, decorative wall treatments, and an upper concave frieze depicting a succession of eight muses of the arts, set against a blue background, all culminating in the octagonal skylight at the center of the ceiling, the dominant feature of the room. The entire space is further animated by the presence of double-leaf doors, with painted panels: portraits of women from different parts of the world in the central medallions, and rich bouquets of flowers in the upper and lower panels. The pediments above the doors, made of plaster painted to imitate ivory, catch the eye, depicting the four seasons through idyllic allegories with putti.

The office was the first room on the left upon entering the central hall. Following stratigraphic surveys, it was found that all the walls and the ceiling still preserved the original oil painting beneath layers of paint. After restoration, the entire original decoration was revealed: a trompe l’œil imitation of wood paneling on the lower part of the walls and a stencil-imitation of wallpaper framed by painted borders on the upper part, all in shades of green and olive. The perimeter cornice and ceiling retain their original profiles, painted in the same colors as the walls.

The salon is the largest room in terms of both surface area and height. Of the room’s original decoration, only the ceiling has been preserved, while the wall decorations have been lost over time. The ceiling is framed by a perimeter cornice of stucco painted in pastel tones, depicting acanthus leaves, and in the center, an oval garland of leaves and flowers can be admired on a cream-colored background. In the concave niche of the salon, the original stove with white faience tiles has been preserved, similar to Meissen or Hardmuth stoves of the era, though it bears no inscription.

The bedroom held an important place in the layout of the residence, being positioned alongside the salon, facing Plantelor Street, with windows on the main facade. From a historical and artistic perspective, it is the most important room in the house, thanks to the preservation of the unique ceiling, which bears the signature of the German painter F. Eichele and the year of completion, 1891, corresponding to the date inscribed on the exterior facade facing Plantelor Street. The ceiling depicts an allegorical scene painted in oil, framed by a stucco border with an interwoven profile pattern, accented with gilded studs. At the center of the composition, a winged female divinity, recognized as Aurora, the goddess of dawn, floats on a blue-sky background characteristic of early morning, surrounded by putti holding garlands of roses. The wall decoration, which had been covered with whitewash over time and uncovered during restoration surveys, consists of oil-painted panels featuring a pattern of flowers and leaves stenciled on a light blue background, intended to imitate wallpaper, framed by tall, burgundy-colored borders.

The dining room is the one whose interior was recovered to the greatest extent through restoration. At the start of the project, all the walls and the ceiling were painted white. However, the perimeter paneling, buried under layers of dark brown paint, the stucco profiles of the ceiling, and an original stained glass window above the transom opening towards the courtyard were still preserved. Stratigraphic surveys revealed that the original design of the room was almost perfectly intact beneath the layers of paint. The walls, above the existing paneling, retained the original painting that imitated green wallpaper with a recurring fleur-de-lis pattern, framed by painted borders imitating oak wood, resembling additional paneling. The coffered ceiling preserved its initial painting, an imitation of oak and mahogany wood marquetry. With the original stained glass design preserved in the transom above the window, it was decided to recreate it in the lower part as well, using the same technique, pattern, and colors, thus restoring the composition of the entire window. The original paneling was restored, completed, cleaned of paint layers, waxed, and brought back to its natural oak wood color, blending perfectly with the painted borders on the walls.

The Oriental Room, referred to as odaea in the construction permit plans from 1891, is one of the pleasant surprises of the house, with the original oil-painted decoration of the walls and ceiling discovered beneath layers of paint. Through the nature of the stucco profiles, and the type and color scheme of the painted decoration, this room aligns with the style of Oriental rooms, which were present in luxurious Bucharest homes starting around the 1870s. Part of the historicist eclecticism of the time, these rooms decorated in an Oriental style generally served as smoking rooms, which leads us to believe this was also the case for this room, located not coincidentally near the dining room.

The conservatory, facing the garden, was the most altered space and suffered the most over time. Stratigraphic surveys conducted on the interior walls of this room, which were painted white, revealed the existence of a painting typical of conservatories in luxurious homes from the late 19th century, specifically depicting branches with leaves and flowers framed by a grid pattern that imitates the metal or bamboo trellises of a veranda. Externally, at the start of the project, we were confronted with the existence of a parasitic structure that appeared to have been added and was discordant with the design of the other facades. Considering the painting discovered inside, the decision was made to demolish the exterior walls of the parasitic structure, most likely built in the 1950s, when the house was nationalized. The project proposed creating showcases with eclectic compositions inspired by the style of the house, in a manner characteristic of the stained glass conservatories present in late 19th-century homes.

The room facing Pictor Alexandru Romano Street is an extension of the house built six years later, in 1897, alongside the construction of the annex structure that served as stables. Only the ceiling, made up of richly ornamented octagonal panels, and the Art Nouveau-style stove have been preserved from the original decoration. The wall decoration, if it ever existed, has not survived to this day.

The spaces in the basement and attic are treated with a modern interior architecture, while preserving important original elements.

The basement has been restored by cleaning and retaining the exposed bricks on the walls and ceilings with brick arches on metal beams. For the flooring finish in the basement, a gray exposed concrete was chosen. A special modern architectural lighting system was selected to highlight the original arches and vaults.

The deteriorated wooden interior stairs leading from the ground floor to the basement and attic, which no longer met current standards, were replaced with two modern metal staircases, featuring glass railings and exposed concrete as the finish for the steps.

The attic has been cleaned, with all the partitions made of plasterboard replaced by lightweight drywall partitions. The flat ceilings of the rooms, constructed on a wooden frame with a lattice of slats and reeds, have been removed, revealing the geometry of the roof. A special detail we would like to highlight is the laminated and tempered glass skylight installed in the attic floor above the skylight of the central hall, making the extrados of the original skylight visible today.

COMING SOON