Old Factory

• Timisoara
• residential
• 2020
• 55.800 sqm
• proposal

Historically speaking, the site used to be an industrial facility inserted in a residential tissue, therefore, an area meant to operate as a closed system, within some set physical delimitations. Our project intends to reverse this situation and to turn this place into an open area, with public access, a pole of interest in the southern part of the Fabric historic district. The image of the building complex is born from the dialogue between the differently colored exposed brick finish, inspired by industrial architecture, and the large windows, closed balconies and loggias, attributes of the contemporary urban living.

The site configuration (its generous size, multiple accesses, and relationship with the surrounding area), the two churches, the proximity of two important arterial roads provided with public transportation, the group of buildings with a venerable industrial tradition from Fabric district and the vitality of the Student Campus nearby, can be the right incentives for a successful story. OLD FACTORY brings to mind the historical beer factory nearby, the second oldest brewery in Romania, and the local tradition of a well-done, durable, and reliable job. The solution naturally derives from the opening of the premises to the surrounding area, from broadening the perimeter routes, favoring the pedestrian ways, and positioning intermediate areas that enhance social interaction. More precisely, the land is divided into four areas, each with its own personality, grouped along an axis proposed to become the promenade of the complex.

Building A has the lowest height, from GF+2 to GF+6, and it opens towards a green, generous area (private gardens of the ground floor apartments) to the front of buildings on Eroilor Street. The northern façade of the volume is flanked by a green pedestrian street, traced as a continuation of Varadia Street.

Building B maximizes the advantage of the central position, a pivot between the exclusive residential area of building A and its public functions developed along the axis of the Promenade. The fact that it is a high-rise building, its large footprint area, the diversity of the public spaces thereby generated, the variety of types of apartments, with private and semipublic hanging gardens, make it the main piece of the composition.

Building C benefits from an advantageous position with the easiest car access, from Gloriei Street; therefore, we propose to position here a multistorey car park that would supplement the required parking spaces, as well as some other floors with complementary functions for housing (the largest surface within the complex).

Building D is the closest to the Student Campus, therefore our proposition is to have here studios and two-room apartments, and, on the ground floor, a commercial function that would turn to advantage the nearby access from Eroilor Blvd..

The complex incorporates a great diversity of apartments, from one-bedroom apartment typologies to three-bedroom penthouses. Each building has its own configuration and while building A looks to accommodate larger families that desire an exterior garden, building D is more appropriate for students or young couples. The apartments in building A and B that open to the green alley have separate entrances directly from the alley, thus inheriting the comfort of a townhouse. Each of these apartments has its own private garden and some of them are divided on two separate floors or one floor and a half, thus becoming lofts. Every apartment benefits from big window openings and has at least one loggia, one balcony, one bay window, or one private terrace/garden.