Economica.net – An interwar villa in the center of Bucharest is for sale for 1,140,000 euros

This villa, located on one of the historic streets that have largely preserved their built background, was built in the interwar period. It has recently been modernized keeping its memorial-symbolic and architectural references. The exterior preserves architectural elements that invite the viewer to dream of a historical period in which horse-drawn carriages and automobiles circulated alternately on the street among the willows of that period. These willows even gave the original name of the street on which the villa is located. Sălciilor Street, formerly Iulius Fucik, was named after the first Czechoslovak president, Thomas Mazaryk, and has buildings with typological, stylistic and architectural diversity.

The interior has been re-compartmentalized and prepared for the demands of contemporaneity. It is admirable that in this context certain architectural elements and interior ornaments reminiscent of the interwar period have been preserved: a porcelain stove, the stucco on the ceilings of the high halls, the wooden doors, the ironwork of the balcony. A medallion from an old Meissen porcelain stove with cupids has been preserved and is embedded in a wall of the house. The villa has 732 square meters divided into more than 10 rooms, arranged on 4 levels: basement, ground floor, first floor and attic. The ceilings are 2.8 meters and 4 meters high.

If we can imagine that the building was originally equipped with all the comforts that existed at the time of its construction, the contemporary facilities make an arc in time to this refined past. It has modern facilities and auxiliary spaces on each level, an alarm system and video monitoring, air conditioning and central heating connected to the gas network, TV and Internet in every room, and the windows can be controlled remotely. There are two separate entrances: on the second floor there is a self-contained, high-ceilinged attic apartment accessed by a separate staircase. The modern design is complemented by windows located in the roof that can be closed or opened with the help of a remote control. Direct connection of the apartment to the first floor is possible through a secure door. The property also has a yard of approximately 275 square meters with parking and automatic steel gates. All this together proves that the villa can serve several contemporary functions.

This building has preserved over time and externally a large part of its architectural values, the griffins and mythological deities on the decoration of the bay window being spectacular. In addition, the building also benefits from exterior lighting to highlight the architectural elements. The griffin was in Greek mythology a winged monster with the body and legs of a lion, with the head and wings of an eagle, dedicated to the god Zeus, and in architecture it is considered to protect historical buildings. The griffin myth was probably developed in ancient Persia (Iran and parts of Central Asia). According to some legends, griffins built their nests of gold they found in the mountains. The Scythian nomads carried these stories to the Mediterranean, where they told the ancient Greeks that giant winged beasts guarded the natural gold in the northern Persian hills.

The volume and ornamentation of the villa give it a monumental extravagance that places it architecturally in the late eclectic style. The eclectic style emerges from the decorative friezes with plant elements and acanthus leaf, the denticles on the cornice, the door and balcony hardware, the window frames. The lion faces guarding the entrance and framing the carved wooden door and the ram’s horns present on the balcony and windows inspire strength. The bay window, the delicate vegetal frieze from the cornice and the glazed ceramic tiles from the windows framing the mascaroni with figures of lovers or deities are also imposing.

The refined elegance of the villa proves that it belonged to an important family of the interwar period. The personalities discovered in the history of the building are Popescu Gheorghe (deceased in 1951) and Solacolu Ecaterina Felicia (his brother’s niece), married to the poet, editor, industrialist and sociologist Solacolu Barbu (1897-1976). He came from a prosperous family of merchants of Bulgarian origin, their extended family producing, in turn, notable people, an architectural monument that remains to this day as a witness of their commercial activity is the Solacolu Inn. Barbu Solacolu was a follower of the artistic movement of symbolism, was decorated for his military activity in the First World War, criticized interwar capitalism and made outstanding translations of Shakespeare.

The villa borrows from the architectural elements of the buildings that surround it, most of them historical monuments. In addition, it is located in the vicinity of the building where Ion Luca Caragiale lived, near an art school where many personalities of our history and culture studied, near the building where Nicolae Hortolomei, surgeon, director of Colțea Hospital and university professor, lived, even close to the old property of the Celibidache family. The protected area of ​​which it is a part is marked by buildings designed by well-known architects of the capital: Petre Antonescu, Arghir Culina, Tiberiu Niga. All these are part of the ingredients of a symbolic future of the building that will serve art and elegance.

The material is part of the “Smart Road Home” initiative, through which the brand aims to contribute to the transparency of the necessary information for all buyers, tenants, owners, agents and developers, with the aim of supporting them to make correct, informed decisions. This material was created in partnership with Ana Rubeli – cultural storyteller and founder of the Cultural Association Aici a stat.