The Lahovari House ( ro, Casa Lahovari) is a house in the sector 2 of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, built by

Ion Mincu Ion Mincu (; December 20, 1852 – December 6, 1912 in Bucharest) was a Romanian architect known for having a leading role in the development of the Romanian Revival style. Most of his projects are located in Bucharest, including his main works ...

between 1884 and 1886, at the request of

Iacob Lahovary Iacob N. Lahovary ( ro, Iacob N. Lahovari; 16 January 1846 – 7 February 1907) was a member of the Romanian aristocracy, a general, politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of War and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of ...

(1846–1907), general and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of War and Chief of the General Staff. The building is considered to be the first significant Romanian Revival style building in the history of Romanian architecture. one of Ion Mincu's early works, it is considered to be emblematic of his style.Monumente din București, p. 82 The building was used as a home for most of its life; since 2003 it has been used by the Maternity Department of the Cantacuzino Hospital. It is classified as a historic monument.

Description

Built in a style similar to another house designed by Ion Mincu, the , Casa Lahovari combines the elements of vernacular architecture with those of Romanian medieval architecture. The

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

of the house is asymmetrical, being well deviated and subtly dosed. The face is decorated with elements specific to popular architecture: glazed

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

ceramics, wooden columns, similar to the columns of

classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

, arches in the form of braces or kokoshniks. The central element of the house is supported by the side wings of the facade which have two windows joined under a common frieze (the component part of the

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

of a house). What offers a rustic atmosphere, specific to Romanian folk houses, is the porch located above the false entrance to the basement of the house, but also a number of other elements such as: prominent and glazed buttons, the frieze made of red and green terracotta, and the wide and raised eaves. The ornamentation used by the architect to shape the facade can also be related to the architecture of houses in Italy, France, Spain, and Istanbul, places visited by Mincu, during his time as a student and after this period. Inside, the ceiling is made of

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

s that mimics wood. For the construction of the house were used brick, plaster with lime mortar, polycrome glazed ceramics, wood, and tin.

Today

The house has been preserved quite well over time, but after 1990 some interior elements were added that affect the interior aesthetics of the building. The house is currently occupied by one of the pavilions of the Cantacuzino Hospital.

Notes

Bibliography

* Florian Georgescu, Paul Cernovodeanu, Alexandru Cebuc, ''Monumente din București'', Editura Meridiane, 1966 * Alexandru Popescu, ''Casele și Palatele Bucureștilor'', Editura Cetatea de Scaun, 2018,

External links

Art Nouveau Europa
{{coord missing, Romania Historic monuments in Bucharest Neo-Brâncovenesc architecture Houses in Bucharest 1886 establishments in Romania Houses completed in 1886 19th-century architecture in Romania