Arquitectura rumana

La arquitectura rumana es muy diversa e incluye la arquitectura medieval, la de antes de la Primera Guerra Mundial , la de entreguerras , la de posguerra y la contemporánea del siglo XXI. En Rumanía también hay diferencias regionales en cuanto a los estilos arquitectónicos. La arquitectura, como el resto de las artes, estuvo muy influenciada por el contexto socioeconómico y por la situación histórica. Por ejemplo, durante el reinado del rey Carol I (1866-1914), Rumanía se encontraba en un continuo estado de reorganización y modernización. En consecuencia, la mayor parte de la arquitectura fue diseñada por arquitectos formados en academias de Europa occidental, en particular la École des Beaux-Arts , y una gran parte de los centros urbanos del Antiguo Reino rumano se construyeron durante este período.

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  Iglesia de madera de Dragomirești , condado de Maramureș , actualmente en el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Dimitrie Gusti , Bucarest , arquitecto desconocido, 1722
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  Iglesia de madera de Ceahlău , condado de Neamț , actualmente en el Museo Nacional de la Villa Dimitrie Gusti, Bucarest , arquitecto desconocido, 1773
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  Casa de Dumbrăveni , condado de Suceava , actualmente en el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Dimitrie Gusti, arquitecto desconocido, siglo XIX
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  Casa de Chiojdu , condado de Buzău , actualmente en el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Dimitrie Gusti, arquitecto desconocido, siglo XIX
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  Casa de Hangu , condado de Neamț, actualmente en el Museo Nacional del Pueblo Dimitrie Gusti, arquitecto desconocido, siglo XIX
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  Interior de una casa campesina del Museo Nacional del Pueblo Dimitrie Gusti

Desde la Edad Media hasta principios del siglo XX, en Rumanía se dieron dos tipos de construcción que se desarrollaron en paralelo y se diferenciaron tanto en los materiales como en la técnica. La primera es la arquitectura campesina, cuyos logros más espectaculares fueron las iglesias de madera , especialmente las de los pueblos de Maramureș , Banat y Apuseni , donde la tradición todavía se lleva a cabo hoy en día. En Maramureș, en el pueblo de Surdești , la torre de la iglesia de 54 m de altura construida durante 1721-1724 es una de las más altas de este tipo en Europa. La segunda está formada principalmente por monasterios, así como residencias principescas o mansiones boyardas. La mayoría de los antiguos edificios laicos fueron destruidos por el tiempo, las guerras, los terremotos y los incendios.

La arquitectura campesina rumana se realizaba con materiales perecederos y técnicas sencillas. Ciertos factores históricos, socioeconómicos y geográficos hicieron que se volviera diferente según las regiones y las épocas. En general, una casa campesina estaba formada por 2, 3 o 4 habitaciones, cada una con una función específica. La habitación más importante era aquella en la que la familia pasaba su vida diaria, a menudo también llamada «cameră a focului» (sala del fuego), porque aquí se encontraba la estufa. Otra habitación, conocida como «tindă», se utilizaba sobre todo para pasar el rato. La habitación para guardar la comida y la ropa se colocaba en diferentes posiciones, a veces con entrada independiente, o incluso siendo una estructura independiente. La cuarta habitación, cuando existía, era la «camera curată» (la habitación limpia), amueblada y decorada de forma especial. Se utilizaba solo para los invitados, se utilizaba para guardar los bienes valiosos o la dote de las doncellas. El porche (prispă) aparece con bastante frecuencia en el plano de las viviendas populares rumanas. Debido a los bosques circundantes, la arquitectura campesina se desarrolla principalmente en madera. Los materiales de construcción principales, muchas veces los únicos, que utilizaban los campesinos rumanos para construir sus viviendas eran principalmente el roble y el abeto, y raramente el haya y el abedul. Algo que realmente influía en el exterior de una casa era el tejado, que estaba muy influido tanto por los materiales existentes como por el clima de la región donde se construía. Al principio, se hacía exclusivamente con paja larga de centeno o trigo, o de caña en las regiones pantanosas. Con el tiempo, hacia los siglos XVII y XVIII, la paja se sustituyó por tejas de madera , muy a menudo fijadas con clavos de madera. Las tejas y las láminas de metal aparecen bastante tarde, siendo materiales más caros y más difíciles de encontrar. ^[1]

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  Iglesia de Densuș , Densuș , siglo XIII, arquitecto desconocido ^[2]
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  Iglesia principesca de San Nicolás  [ro] , Curtea de Argeș , 1352, arquitecto desconocido ^[3]
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  Iglesia de San Nicolás del Monasterio de Bogdana , Rădăuți , probablemente de Bogdan I (1360), arquitecto desconocido ^[4]
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  Iglesia del monasterio de Cozia , Călimănești , 1387-1391, arquitecto desconocido ^[5]
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  Puerta de la iglesia, 1452-1453, escultor desconocido
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  Iglesia de San Jorge del Monasterio de Voroneț , condado de Suceava , 1488, arquitecto desconocido
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  Iglesia de San Jorge, Hârlău , 1492, arquitecto desconocido ^[6]
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  Puerta de la iglesia, primera mitad del siglo XVI, autor desconocido
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  Iglesia de Arbore , Arbore , 1503, arquitecto desconocido ^[7]
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  Catedral de Curtea de Argeș , Curtea de Argeș , 1517, arquitecto desconocido ^[5]
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  Iglesia del Monasterio del Humor , Mănăstirea Humorului , 1530, arquitecto desconocido ^[8]
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  Iglesia del Monasterio de Mihai Vodă , Bucarest , 1589, arquitecto desconocido ^[9]

En toda Europa, los inicios de la Edad Media están marcados por el declive de la vida urbana que caracterizaba al Imperio Romano. En Europa Occidental, las ciudades que sobreviven son aquellas con funciones políticas o administrativas. A diferencia de lo que ocurre en Europa Occidental, en las zonas rumanas, tras el fin de las estructuras romanas, la vida urbana desaparece por completo. Las ciudades rumanas se desarrollan de forma diferente en Valaquia y Moldavia en comparación con las occidentales, incluidas las de Transilvania , siendo más algunas grandes aldeas que ciudades. ^[10]

En la arquitectura medieval, las influencias de las tendencias occidentales se pueden rastrear, en mayor o menor medida, en los tres territorios habitados por los rumanos. Dichas influencias son más fuertes en Transilvania y más débiles en Moldavia , en formas absorbidas por la tradición local y bizantina . En Valaquia , los elementos occidentales en la arquitectura fueron aún menos frecuentes; allí, a partir del siglo XIV, la arquitectura se basó en la adaptación local del modelo bizantino (la iglesia principesca de Curtea de Arges y el monasterio de Cozia ).

Hay monumentos significativos para el estilo gótico de Transilvania conservados hasta nuestros días, a pesar de todas las alteraciones, como la Iglesia Negra en Brașov (siglos XIV y XV) y varias otras catedrales , así como el Castillo de Bran en el condado de Brașov (siglo XIV), el Castillo de Hunyad en Hunedoara (siglo XV).

Transilvania también desarrolló ciudades fortificadas en gran medida durante la Edad Media; su crecimiento urbano respetó los principios de funcionalidad (el patrón habitual es un mercado central con una iglesia, calles estrechas con lados conectados aquí y allá por arcos): las ciudades de Sighișoara , Sibiu y Brașov son ejemplos notables en ese sentido. La construcción también se desarrolló enormemente en Moldavia. Se construyeron o reconstruyeron un gran número de fortalezas durante el reinado del príncipe más grande de Moldavia, Esteban el Grande (1457-1504). Suceava , Neamț , Hotin , Soroca y otras se levantaron y resistieron con éxito los asedios establecidos con el tiempo por el sultán Mehmet II , el conquistador de Constantinopla .

Fue durante su época cuando se desarrolló el estilo moldavo , de gran originalidad y unidad estilística, al mezclar elementos góticos con la estructura bizantina propia de las iglesias. Entre tales construcciones, la monumental iglesia del Monasterio de Neamț sirvió, durante más de un siglo, como modelo para las iglesias y monasterios moldavos . El estilo se continuó en el siglo XVI, durante el gobierno del hijo de Esteban el Grande, Petru Rareș (1527-1538, 1541-1546). La principal innovación fue el pórtico y las pinturas exteriores (las iglesias de los monasterios de Voroneț , Sucevița , Moldovița ). Estas iglesias del norte de Moldavia se han hecho famosas en todo el mundo, debido a la belleza de sus elegantes formas pintadas que se pueden ver desde lejos.

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  Relieve con el escudo de Moldavia en una corona de laurel sostenida por dos querubines (también conocidos como putti ), sobre la pisanie de la iglesia de San Demetrio de Tesalónica, Suceava , escultor desconocido, 1534 ^[11]

En Moldavia , algunos edificios tienen influencias renacentistas . La fachada de la iglesia del monasterio de Golia está decorada con pilastras corintias y las ventanas tienen frontones sobre ellas. La iglesia de San Demetrio de Tesalónica en Suceava tiene un relieve con el escudo de armas de Moldavia en una corona de laurel sostenida por dos querubines (también conocidos como putti ), sobre la pisanie . Algunas casas de boyardos y ciertas lápidas también fueron influenciadas por la arquitectura renacentista. ^[11]

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  Iglesia del Monasterio de Trei Ierarhi , Iași , arquitecto desconocido, construida total o parcialmente por un equipo de maestros georgianos , ^[12] 1637-1639 ^[13]
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  Monasterio de Horezu , Horezu , arquitecto desconocido, siglos XVII-XVIII ^[14]
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  Iglesia del Monasterio de Horezu , arquitecto desconocido, 1693
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  Palacio Potlogi, Potlogi , arquitecto desconocido, 1698
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  Palacio Mogoșoaia , Mogoșoaia , arquitecto desconocido, principios del siglo XVIII ^[15]
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  Nueva Iglesia de San Jorge, Bucarest , arquitecto desconocido, terminada en 1706 ^[16]
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  Iglesia de Scaune , Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, 1715 ^[17]

El siglo XVII, el apogeo de la civilización rumana premoderna, trajo consigo un desarrollo más significativo de destacadas construcciones laicas (elegantes mansiones boyardas o suntuosos palacios principescos en Moldavia y Valaquia), así como la expansión de los grandes monasterios. Estos últimos estaban dotados de escuelas, talleres de arte, imprentas y eran importantes centros culturales. A este período pertenece la iglesia del Monasterio de Trei Ierarhi en Iaşi , construida en 1635-1639, un monumento único debido a su profusa decoración con motivos geométricos tallados, coloreados en lapislázuli y láminas de oro, en todas las fachadas. El estilo arquitectónico desarrollado en Valaquia , especialmente bajo los reinados de Matei Basarab (1632-1654) y Constantin Brâncoveanu (1688-1714), es de una notable unidad estilística. El estilo Brancovan se caracteriza por la integración de elementos barrocos y orientales en la tradición local. Algunos ejemplos son el monasterio de Hurezi en Oltenia o el palacio principesco de Mogoșoaia , ambos profusamente decorados con hermosas tallas de piedra, estucos y pinturas.

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  Brâncovenesc - Monasterio de Văcărești, Bucarest , arquitecto desconocido, 1716-1722, destruido en 1985-1987 ^[18]
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  Brâncovenesc - Iglesia Kretzulescu , Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, 1720-1722 ^[19]
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  Iglesia del monasterio de Brâncovenesc - Stavropoleos , Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, 1724 ^[17]
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  Brâncovenesc - Antigua iglesia de San Eleftherios , Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, 1741-1744 ^[20]
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  Brâncovenesc - Greceanu Culă , Măldărești , arquitecto desconocido, siglo XVIII
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  Tradicional local con pocas influencias neoclásicas : Casa Melik (Strada Spătarului n.º 22), Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, 1760 ^[21]
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  Rococó - Fuente del Monasterio de Golia , Iași , arquitecto desconocido, 1766
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  Tradicional local - Casa en memoria de Anton Pann (Strada Știrbei Vodă no. 4), Râmnicu Vâlcea , Rumania, arquitecto desconocido, finales del siglo XVIII
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  Neoclásico - Iglesia circular de San Demetrio, Lețcani, arquitecto desconocido, 1795 ^[22]
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  Neoclásico - Palacio del Monasterio de Frumoasa , Iași, por Martin Kubelka, 1818-1819 ^[22]
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  Casa Dinicu Golescu en Calea Victoriei , Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, 1820 ^[23]

Los fanariotas eran miembros de las familias aristocráticas griegas que vivían en el barrio de Fener de Estambul ( Turquía ). Algunos miembros de estas familias, que habían ganado gran influencia política y considerables fortunas durante el siglo XVII, ocuparon puestos administrativos muy importantes en el Imperio Otomano. A partir de 1711 en Moldavia y en 1716 en Valaquia , algunos fanariotas fueron puestos como gobernantes por el Imperio Otomano de estas dos regiones. Durante el siglo XVIII, no hubo una gran ruptura con el estilo brancovenesc , siendo la arquitectura fanariota más o menos similar a la anterior. Los cambios y las transiciones se produjeron con bastante lentitud, perceptibles solo al comparar las situaciones entre las que hay diferencias de décadas, como el comienzo y el final del siglo XVIII. ^[24]

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  Neoclásico - Casa Moruzi en Calea Victoriei , Bucarest , arquitecto desconocido, 1925-demolida después del terremoto de 1940 ^[25]
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  Neoclásico con marcos de ventanas de estilo neogótico : Palacio Suțu, hoy Museo Municipal de Bucarest (Bulevardul Ion C. Brătianu n.º 2), de Conrad Schwink y Johann Veit , 1833-1835 ^[26]
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  Neoclásico - Catedral Metropolitana , Iași , 1833-1839, de Gustav Freywald, Bucher y Mihail Singurov, con algunas intervenciones posteriores de Alexandru Orăscu de 1887
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  Neoclásico - Palacio Ştirbei ( Calea Victoriei n.º 107), de Michel Sanjouand, c. 1835; con un nuevo nivel con cariátides añadido en 1882 por Joseph Hartmann ^[27]
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  Neoclásico: Iglesia del monasterio de Frumoasa , Iași, arquitecto desconocido, 1836, ^[22]
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  Neoclásico - Palacio Alexandru Ghica , en el lugar donde hoy se encuentra el Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (Bulevardul Carol I n° 4), Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, 1837-demolido en 1890
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  Segunda parte del Hospital Brâncovenesc en Piața Unirii , Bucarest, de Josef Hartl, 1842 ^[28] demolida en 1986
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  Neoclásico - Antiguo Teatro Nacional en Calea Victoriei, de Anton Heft, 1849-1852, destruido por los bombardeos de 1944 ^[29]
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  Renacimiento gótico - Casa Bosianu (Strada Cuțitul de Argint no. 5), Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, c. 1850
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  Renacimiento gótico: Sala Bossel en Calea Victoriei, arquitecto desconocido, c. 1850
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  Renacimiento gótico - Iglesia Nueva de San Espiridón , Bucarest, arquitecto desconocido, terminada en 1858 ^[30]

En la primera mitad del siglo XIX, la vida urbana creció considerablemente y se produjo una política de modernización orientada hacia Occidente. Durante este siglo, el estilo predominante fue el Clasicismo , que perduró durante mucho tiempo, hasta el siglo XX, aunque coexistió en algunos períodos cortos con otros estilos. Arquitectos e ingenieros extranjeros fueron invitados aquí desde la primera década del siglo XIX. La mayoría de los arquitectos que construyeron durante el comienzo del siglo eran extranjeros porque los rumanos aún no tenían la instrucción necesaria para diseñar edificios que eran muy diferentes en comparación con la tradición rumana. Por lo general, utilizando el Clasicismo, comenzaron a construir junto con artesanos rumanos, generalmente preparados en escuelas o academias extranjeras. Los arquitectos rumanos también estudian en escuelas de Europa occidental. Un ejemplo es Alexandru Orăscu , uno de los representantes del Neoclasicismo en Rumania.

El clasicismo se manifiesta tanto en la arquitectura religiosa como en la secular. Un buen ejemplo de arquitectura secular es el Palacio Ştirbei en Calea Victoriei ( Bucarest ), construido alrededor del año 1835, según los planos del arquitecto francés Michel Sanjouand. Recibió un nuevo nivel en 1882, diseñado por el arquitecto austríaco Joseph Hartmann ^{[31] [32]}

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  Neoclásico - El antiguo edificio de la Universidad de Bucarest , 1857-1864, bombardeado en abril o mayo de 1944 durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y parcialmente destruido, parcialmente reconstruido a fines de la década de 1960, diseñado por Alexandru Orăscu y decorado con esculturas de Karl Storck ^[29]
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  Mezcla de neoclasicismo y neogótico local/valaco : posada Solacolu ( Calea Moșilor n.º 108), arquitecto desconocido, 1859 ^[33]
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  Renacimiento gótico local/valaco: Casa de los Gremios (Strada Stelea Spötarul n.º 10), Bucarest , 1859-1862, por Luigi Lipizer ^[34]
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  Neoclásico - Strada CFRobescu n.º 13, Bucarest, c. 1860, arquitecto desconocido
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  Renacimiento gótico local/valaco: valla de la calle CF Robescu n.º 9, Bucarest, c. 1960, arquitecto desconocido
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  Renacimiento gótico local/valaco: edificio principal y puerta del Arsenal del Ejército , Bucarest, 1860-1861, demolido a mediados o finales de la década de 1980, por Luigi Lipizer ^[35]
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  Renacimiento gótico local/valaco: Casa de Cezar Librecht (Strada Lupu Dionisie n.º 46), Bucarest, 1860-1865, por Luigi Lipizer ^[34]
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  Neoclásico: Asilo Elena Doamna (Șoseaua Panduri no. 90-92), Bucarest, 1862-1865, arquitecto desconocido ^[36]
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  Neoclásico - Casa Eliad (Bulevardul Mircea Vodă no. 5), Bucarest, 1863, arquitecto desconocido ^[22]

Durante el reinado de Alexandru Ioan Cuza , entre 1859 y 1866, el neoclasicismo y una forma de neogótico (conocido como neogótico local/valaco) fueron los estilos dominantes. Los edificios de este período son bastante escasos; la mayoría de los centros urbanos del Imperio Antiguo se construyeron principalmente entre 1866 y 1914, durante el reinado del rey Carol I de Rumania , que gobernó Rumania después de la abdicación de Cuza.

A mediados y finales del siglo XIX, el estilo neogótico también aparece en Rumanía, como una manifestación del Romanticismo . En general, los artistas románticos, no solo los arquitectos, vieron la Edad Media como una era fantástica. Por lo tanto, la adopción de la arquitectura neogótica parece muy normal para los románticos en Europa occidental. Este no es el caso de los románticos en Rusia y en Rumanía. Sin embargo, el estilo neogótico también se extendió aquí, siendo buenos ejemplos de este estilo la Casa Cezar Librecht y la Mansión Niculescu-Dorobanțu en Bucarest, pero también el Palacio de la Cultura en Iași .

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  Bellas Artes o Ecléctico: Exterior del antiguo Palacio del Banco Nacional de Rumania, Bucarest , 1883-1900, por Joseph-Marie Cassien Barnard y Albert Galleron, con la ayuda de Grigore Cerkez y Constantin Băicoianu ^[37]
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  Bellas Artes o Ecléctico: Interior del antiguo Palacio del Banco Nacional de Rumania, Bucarest, 1883-1900, por Joseph-Marie Cassien Barnard y Albert Galleron, con la ayuda de Grigore Cerkez y Constantin Băicoianu ^[37]
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  Neoclásico : Ateneo rumano en Calea Victoriei , Bucarest, 1886–1895, por Albert Galleron ^[38]
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  Bellas Artes o Ecléctico - Biblioteca Universitaria Central en Calea Victoriei, 1891-1895, por Paul Gottereau ^[39]
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  Beaux-Arts también conocido como Ecléctico - Teatro Nacional de Iași , Iași , 1894–1896, por Fellner & Helmer
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  Beaux-Arts también conocido como Ecléctico - Palacio CEC en Calea Victoriei, 1897-1900, por Paul Gottereau (proyecto) e Ion Socolescu (construcción) ^[40]
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  Bellas Artes o Ecléctico: Palacio Sturdza en la Plaza de la Victoria , Bucarest, 1898-1901, destruido por los bombardeos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, por Iulius Reinicke ^[41]
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  Bellas Artes, también conocido como Ecléctico: Palacio Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (también conocido como Nababul) en Calea Victoriei, 1898-1906, por Ion D. Berindey ^[42]
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  Bellas Artes o Ecléctico: Palacio Constantin Mihail (actualmente Museo de Arte de Craiova ), 1898-1907, por Paul Gottereau
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  Beaux-Arts aka Eclectic - Interior of the Constantin Mihail Palace, 1898–1907, by Paul Gottereau
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  Anker Building on Calea Victoriei, c.1900, by Leonida Negrescu,^[43] demolished in April 1939 by Carol II to make space for the Revolution Square
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  Romanian Revival - Building of the Public Officials Association in the Victory Square, Bucharest, 1900-destroyed by WW2 bombardments in 1944, by Nicolae Mihăescu^[44]
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  Gothic Revival - Palace of Culture, Iași, 1906–1926, by Ion D. Berindei, Filip Xenopol and Grigore Cerchez^[45]
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  Hotel Cișmigiu (Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta no. 38), Bucharest, by Arghir Culina, 1912^[46]

More buildings are built during the second half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, as the creation of the new modern Romanian state, after the Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859, needed new administrative, social-economic and cultural institutions. This way, during a relatively short period, some administrative palaces had to be built, not just the governmental ones, but also smaller communal palaces in different cities, and also private homes. Many of them were built in the Classicist style, like the Romanian Athenaeum on Calea Victoriei (Bucharest).

Towards the end of the century, many administrative buildings and private homes are built in a style known as «Beaux-Arts» or «Eclectic», brought from France through French architects who came here for work in Romania, schooled in France. The National Bank of Romania Palace on Strada Lipscani, built between 1883 and 1885 is a good example of this style, decorated not just with columns (mainly Ionic), but also with allegorical statues placed in niches, that depict Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and Justice. Because of the popularity of this style, it changed the way Bucharest looks, making it similar in some way with Paris, which led to Bucharest being seen as "Little Paris". Eclecticism was very popular not just in Bucharest and Iași, the two biggest cities, but also in smaller ones like Craiova, Caracal, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Pitești, Ploiești, Buzău, Botoșani, Piatra Neamț etc. This style was used not only for administrative palaces and big houses of wealthy people, but also for middle-class homes.

Industrialization brought some engineering feats such as the King Carol I Bridge (later renamed Anghel Saligny Bridge). Built between 1890 and 1895 in over the Danube, when it was completed it then became the longest bridge in Europe and the third in the world.^[47]

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  Neoclassical - Titu Maiorescu House, where the meetings of the Junimea literary society were held, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1870^[48]
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  Neoclassical with a few Gothic Revival elements - Tănase Nicolau House, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1870
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  Beaux Arts aka Eclectic - Ionel Pleșia House, Craiova, by Paul Louis Albert Galeron, 1890-1892
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  Renaissance Revival - Mitilineu House, Bucharest, by Joseph Schiffeleers, 1898^[49]
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  Beaux-Arts aka Eclectic - Strada Silvestru no. 13, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1900
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  Neoclassical - Calea Unirii no. 73, Craiova, unknown architect, c.1900
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  Beaux-Arts aka Eclectic - House of architect Leonida Negrescu, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1900 (before 1906)
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  Gothic Revival - Hermann I.Rieber House (left) and carriage factory (right), Bucharest, by Siegfrid Kofczinsky, 1903^[50]
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  Beaux-Arts aka Eclectic - Strada Profesorilor no. 2, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1910
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  Beaux-Arts aka Eclectic - Strada Vasile Conta no. 14, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1910
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  Renaissance Revival - Olănescu House (today the Institut Français de Roumanie) on Bulevardul Dacia, Bucharest, by Oskar Maugsch, 1911-1912^[51]
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  Tudor Revival - Dr. Petre Herescu House on Bulevardul Dacia, Bucharest, by Grigore Cerchez, 1911-1913^[52]
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  Beaux-Arts aka Eclectic - Assan House, Bucharest, by Ion D. Berindey, 1914^[53]
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  Beaux-Arts aka Eclectic - Dimitrie Manole House, Bucharest, by Edmond van Saanen Algi, 1915

Besides administrative buildings and the residences of wealthy people, many city-houses with a street facade and a garden were also built, belonging to middle and upper middle class individuals, like doctors, engineers, architects or workers. Most of these houses have two or three window on the street facade, and the door and other windows on the garden facade. The room with the windows towards the street was in most cases the living room, so the people who happened to walk on that street could see how good the owners lived. The terrains of these proprieties were divided usually more or less equally into the garden and house surfaces. Above the entrance, some of them have monograms and/or cartouches with the year when they were erected. Most of the houses have their door in the garden, not towards the street, because during the Belle Époque there was a law that made owners who had doors at the street pay higher taxes.

Most if not all rich people of the Belle Époque and the interwar period had servants who lived with them on their property. They lived in a different part of the house, or had a separate structure in the garden, similar with the house but smaller. These separate structures were in most cases in the back of the garden, usually having common walls with the house of the neighbours. In the case of old houses from the 1st half of the 19th century or even from the Phanariote period (1711/1716-1821), which had huge gardens, the owners built a new bigger one for them in the Belle Époque, and gave the old one to the servants, as it is the case of Strada Negustori no. 4 in Bucharest.

• 
  Polychrome ceramic tiles with foliage spirals (aka rinceaux) in the courtyard of the Central Girls' School, Bucharest, by Ion Mincu, 1890^[54]
• 
  Upper part of a Neoclassical tiled stove, decorated with griffins, garlands (aka festoons), a medallion with a cerub (aka putto), cornucopias and foliage spirals, in the principals' house of the Central Girls' School, Bucharest, unknown designer, 1890
• 
  Arabesque with foliage spirals and a rectangular cartouche with the year when the house was built, on a corner of Strada General H.M. Berthelot no. 52, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1890
• 
  Detailed ceiling with stuccos and decorative paintings in the Cesianu-Racoviță Palace, Bucharest, by John Elisée Berthet, 1892-1902
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  Arabesque with a big and blank cartouche and cherubs, on a wall of Intrarea Costache Negri no. 1, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1899
• 
  Pressed tin fire mark of the Dacia-România Insurance Company, c.1900. Marks like this were put on the facades of houses, showing the insurance company to which the owner was subscribed. The same applies to other insurance companies, like Generala, Agricola or Asigurarea Românească. Some of them are still in the same place today, but rusty
• 
  Cartouches and other ornaments of the Maria D. Nicolau House, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1902^[55]
• 
  Wall and ceiling decorated with stuccos, the style being a mix of Rococo and the Louis XVI style, in Strada Arthur Verona no. 15, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1910
• 
  Fresco with cartouches and foliage spirals on the upper part of the facade of Strada Occidentului no. 11, Bucharest, painter: C. Cora, architect: Cesare Fantoli, 1910^[56]
• 
  Complex wrought iron papo-de-rola balconies with elaborate Rococo Revival shells and round shapes (aka volutes) under them, on the facade of Strada General H. M. Berthelot no. 41, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1911^[57]
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  Wrought iron door with a glass and metal awning at the top, at the entrance of the George Deșliu House on Bulevardul Dacia, Bucharest, by Ernest Doneaud, 1912^[52]
• 
  Spectacular stained glass window with an Ancient Greek mythological theme in the Assan House, Bucharest, by Ion D. Berindey, 1914^[53]

Belle Époque architecture is characterized by complex details on the facades, and also more or less in the interiors, especially when it comes to the houses of wealthy individuals. Besides its practical purpose, a facade also had to be beautiful, since they were at that time a social status indicator. Thus, it could be said that streets with buildings from the Belle Époque are a sort of art galleries. Almost all of the ornaments that decorate these facades are made of plaster, produced with moulds, instead of being carved in stone. Craftsmen and sculptors who worked with plaster started to come in big numbers in Romania at the end of the 18th century. According to the documents that we have, the first house in Bucharest that was adorned with plaster decorations was the one of Dinicu Golescu, built in 1820. Exterior painted ornaments are quite rare, since they tend to degrade quicker than the sculpted ones. A material used for Romanian Revival facades were ceramic tiles, usually in bright colours.

Most houses have oval frame-like ornaments, called cartouches, in which sometimes it is written the year when a building was erected, or the initials of its owner. This is especially helpful because these inscriptions show clearly when something was built, a date otherwise unknown. They are usually located on the upper part of the facade, above the entrance door or in the pediment above the entrance. Especially in the interwar period, little plaques with the names of the architect and/or engineer started to be popular on the facades of villas, apartment and administrative buildings. All of these texts are almost always written with fonts that fit with the style of the building.

Besides simple linear moldings and Greco-Roman ornaments, most of the motifs used for decorating Neoclassical and Beaux Arts architecture consist of foliage, flowers, garlands (aka festoons) and vegetal spirals (aka rinceaux). Human figures were not rare, usually appearing under the form of mascarons (literally face-shaped ornaments) at the top of windows, doors or in cartouches. There were also medallions showing people from profile, but these were quite rare. Another form of human representation were putti (aka cherubs), which were basically cubby winged baby angels.

Generally, a Belle Époque house has a monumental entrance in their garden, done for impressing the guests the owners might have. In the case of houses from the 1880s and 1890s, the door is usually placed between two columns and has a pediment above, like a miniature of an Ancient Greek or Roman temple entrance. Despite being a detail, the handles of doors can have intricate details and shapes. Interior doors were simpler, and sometimes featured painted arabesques, like in the case of Strada Italiană no. 21 in Bucharest. Interior doors often had clusters of ornaments at the top, or a big cartouche with a painting inside. Entrances tend to have shell-shaped glass and metal awnings (Romanian: marchize) on the exterior, for protecting the door from weather, but also to make the entrance more monumental. Some entrances also had small green house-like rooms, with glass walls. Some bourgeois houses have porte-cochères, relatively rare, mostly in Bucharest.

Interiors are decorated with stuccos. They usually have decorated cornices at the edge where the walls intersect with the ceiling, and cartouches or medallions in the corners. Houses of rich people usually had painted ceilings. The room with the most opulent decoration was always the living room and/or the guest room. This was obviously for impressing the guests, similarly with how we put today pictures with our wins on social media to impress others. Walls were simpler than the ceiling, divided into geometric panels in the Louis XVI style, adorned with pilasters, or completely blank. Most interiors also had tiled stoved for warming the house. Most of them were completely white, like the ones from the Dimitrie Sturdza House in Bucharest. Fireplaces were relatively rare, most of them in the residences of wealthy individuals, palaces or state institutions.^[58]

• 
  Saint John the Great Monastery, where is now the CEC Palace, Bucharest, built initially before 1591, highly modified in 1703 during the reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu, demolished in 1875. Ornaments from the construction of 1703 are preserved in the lapidary of the Stavropoleos Monastery^[59]
• 
  Sărindar Monastery Church, where is now the National Military Club, Bucharest, built in the mid-17th century by Matei Basarab, modified in the mid 19th century in a Gothic Revival style, demolished in 1896

During the reign of Carol I, due to the need for new headquarters for state institutions, some heritage buildings were demolished. This was mainly because back then, the idea of historic monument didn't exist. Thus, landmarks that were a few centuries old were turned down too make space for new buildings. In downtown Bucharest, multiple monasteries, churches and inns from the late Romanian Middle Ages or the Early Modern Period were demolished.

• 
  Minerva publisher headquarter on Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1900-destroyed by WW2 bombardments
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  Frieze of Strada Constantin F. Robescu no. 1, Bucharest, unknown architect, c. 1900
• 
  Vienna Secession - Bazil Assan House (Strada Scaune no. 21-23, currently Strada Tudor Arghezi), Bucharest, by Marcel Kammerer, 1902-1911, demolished in the late 1950s or the 1960s to make space for the National Theatre Bucharest^[60]
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  Mix of Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau - Romulus Porescu House (Strada Doctor Paleologu no. 12), Bucharest, by Dimitrie Maimarolu, 1905^[61]
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  Mix of Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau - Constanța Casino, Constanța, by Daniel Renard and Petre Antonescu, 1905-1910
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  Former Al. Assan shop (Strada Lipscani no. 72-74), Bucharest, unknown architect, before 1906^[62]
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  Mix of Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau - Mița the Cyclist House (Strada Biserica Amzei no. 9), Bucharest, by Nicolae C. Mihăescu, 1908^[63]
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  Stove in the Mița the Cyclist House, possibly designed by Nicolae C. Mihăescu, 1908
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  Relief on the Fanny and Isac Popper House (Strada Sfinților no. 1), Bucharest, by Alfred Popper, 1914^[64]
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  Relief on the Fanny and Isac Popper House (Strada Sfinților no. 1), Bucharest, by Alfred Popper, 1914^[64]
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  Piața Mihail Kogălniceanu no. 7, Bucharest, unknown architect, unknown date
• 
  Mix of Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau - Strada Mircea Vodă no. 48, Bucharest, unknown architect, unknown date, demolished during the late 1980s

Art Nouveau appears in Romania during the same years as it does in Western Europe (early 1890s until the outbreak of World War I in 1914), but here few are the buildings in this style, the Beaux Arts being predominant. The most famous of them is the Constanța Casino. Most of the Romanian examples of Art Nouveau architecture are actually mixes of Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau, like the Romulus Porescu House or house no. 61 on Strada Vasile Lascăr, both in Bucharest.^[47] This is not different compared to what was happening in France, where eclecticism was for more popular, Art Nouveau buildings and structures being relatively rare. Despite the fact that most houses from the reign of Carol I are Beaux-Arts, some of them may have Art Nouveau stoves inside, since the style of the exterior won't always dictate the one of the stove or the entire interior.

Just like in the rest of Europe, the movement was not limited only to architecture, manifesting in design, illustration, painting, and other art media too. A good example is the Ileana magazine, that belonged to the society with the same name created by Ștefan Luchian, Constantin Artachino and Nicolae Vermont. Its pages were decorated with illustrations similar with Alphonse Mucha's posters.^[65]

• 
  Late examples of Beaux Arts, or projects from the Belle Époque built during the interwar period, delayed because of WW1 - Strada Popa Rusu no. 20, Bucharest, 1925, unknown architect
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  Romanian Revival architecture - C.N. Câmpeanu/Alfred E. Gheorghiu House (Bulevardul Dacia no. 56), Bucharest, c.1923, by Constantin Nănescu^[66]
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  Art Deco - Piața Sfântul Ștefan no. 1, Bucharest, Sady Herivan (?), 1932 (?)
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  Moorish - Emanoil Tătărăscu and Enescu House (Strada General Eremia Grigorescu no. 12), Bucharest, by Ion Giurgea, 1936^[67]
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  Rationalism - Autonomous Department of State Monopolies (Calea Victoriei no. 152), Bucharest, by Duiliu Marcu, 1936-1941^[68]
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  Mixes of styles - Strada Doctor Lister no. 11A, Bucharest, 1920s, unknown architect, mix of Romanian Revival Art Deco
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  Style upgradation - Strada Planetlor no. 25A, Bucharest, street facade: 1930s, the rest of the house: c.1900, unknown architects
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  Demolitions - Alexandru Marghiloman House on Bulevardul Gheorghe Magheru, Bucharest, 1890, demolished in the 1920s and replaced with the ARO Building on Bulevardul Gheorghe Magheru^[69]

The interwar period and the WW2 one was dominated by two styles: Romanian Revival and Modernism (under the forms of Art Deco, Stripped Classicism and later Bauhaus). Before becoming mainstream, Modernism was in a conflict with the adepts of the Romanian Revival style. They blamed Modernists for lacking a National spirit. However, this opposition will fade away over time, as Modernism became the dominant style.

Another style of the interwar period was Rationalism (Romanian: stilul rațional italian), very similar with the architecture from Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Buildings in this style are quite rare, most of them being institutions, like the Victoria Palace or the Carol I National Defence University, both in Bucharest. During the 1930s, the Moorish style was popular for houses, using Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements, and big plane surfaces.

Many impressive villas that show these styles can be found in the Aviatorilor neighborhood in Bucharest, due to the fact that this area was empty before 1911. Another district with similar opulent villas is Cotroceni.

During the Belle Époque and the interwar period, it was very important for people to have houses fashionable with the preferences and the styles of the time. Because of this, a few houses from the reign of Carol I were modernized, due to the fact that styles like Gothic Revival, Neoclassicism, Beaux-Arts or Art Nouveau were considered by some as being "passé", "dated" or "out of fashion". This happed rarely, and examples of 19th century buildings whose facades were changed with something Art Deco or Modern are rare. They are relatively easy to spot, due to their proportions and sizes being the same as the rest of the Belle Époque houses, with ornaments belonging to other styles.

Because of this perception of pre-WW1 architecture as "dated" or its lack of appreciation, some impressive buildings from that time were demolished. One of the best examples is the Marghiloman House, that stood where the ARO Building on Bulevardul Gheorghe Magheru is now in Bucharest.

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  Central Girls' School (Strada Icoanei no. 3-5), Bucharest, by Ion Mincu, 1890^[54]
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  Cantacuzino Tomb in the Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, by Ion Mincu, c.1900^[70]
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  Palace of the Arts, part of the 1906 General Romanian Exhibition in the Carol Park, Bucharest, by Victor Ștefănescu and Ștefan Burcuș, 1905-1906
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  Nicolae Minovici House (Strada Doctor Nicolae Minovici no. 1), today the Nicolae Minovici Folk Art Museum, Bucharest, by Cristofi Cerchez, 1906-1907^[71]
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  Vasile Zottu House (Strada C.A. Rosetti no. 7), Bucharest, unknown architect, 1909^[72]
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  Aurel Mincu House (Bulevardul Dacia no. 60), Bucharest, by Arghir Culina, 1910^[73]
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  Interior of the Aurel Mincu House, Bucharest, by Arghir Culina, 1910^[74]
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  Ceiling from the Gheorghe Petrașcu House (Piața Romană nr. 5), Bucharest, by Spiru Cegăneanu, 1912^[75]
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  Toma T. Socolescu House, Ploiești, by Toma T. Socolescu, 1914-c.1918
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  Gheorghe Hotăranu House (Strada Vasile Lascăr no. 76), Bucharest, by Statie Ciortan, 1925^[76]
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  Staircase of the Alexandru and Lucreția Alexandrescu Building (Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu no. 9), Bucharest, by Alfred Popper, 1926-1927^[77]
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  Strada Grigore Romniceanu no. 54, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1930
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  Romanian restaurant at the 1939 World's Fair, New York, by Octav Doicescu, 1939^[78]

During the 1890s and 1900s, the Romanian Revival style appears and is developed. Ion Mincu, who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts from where in 1884 receives his architect diploma, is the first Romanian architect who, rejecting the Beaux-Arts style, promotes traditional Romanian architecture. During his 30-year career, studying the old Brâncovenesc monuments, he built using this style, with works like the Lahovari House, the Kiseleff Roadside Buffet [ro] or the Central Girls' School in Bucharest. Although thought in foreign schools and academies, other Romanian architects, like Petre Antonescu or Cristofi Cerchez, start building in this style. Romanian Revival buildings are erected both before and after WW1, the 1920s being the peak of popularity of the style.^[79]

• 
  Early - Pediment of the Mihai Zisman House (Calea Călărașilor no. 44) in Bucharest, Romania, by architect Soru, 1920
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  Early - Strada Plantelor no. 11, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1925
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  Mature: Interior of Calea Victoriei no. 100, Bucharest, by Nicolae Nenciulescu, 1929
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  Early - Top of the Union Hotel (Strada Ion Câmpineanu no. 11), Bucharest, by Arghir Culina, 1929-1931^[80]
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  Mature - Detail of the Telephones Company Building (Calea Victoriei no. 37), Bucharest, by Walter Froy, Louis S. Weeks and Edmond van Saanen Algi, 1929-1934^[81]
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  Early - Lido Hotel (Bulevardul Gheorghe Magheru no. 5-7), Bucharest, by Ernest Donaud, 1930^[82]
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  Early - Central Social Insurance Company Building (now the Asirom Building, Bulevardul Carol no. 31-33), Bucharest, by Ion Ionescu, c.1930^[83]
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  Mature - Door of Strada Doctor Lister no. 1, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1930
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  Early - Door of the "Albina" (the Bee) Bank Building (now the "Romanian Waters" National Administration, Strada Edgar Quinet no. 6), Bucharest, unknown architect, 1935^[84]
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  Mature - Bulevardul Dacia no. 66, Bucharest, by Jean Monda, 1931^[85]
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  Streamline Moderne - Moscovici Building (Strada Nicolae Iorga no. 22), Bucharest, by Aurel Focșanu and Emil Vițeanu, c.1930
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  Mature - Grave of the Străjescu Family, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, by George Cristinel, 1934^[86]
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  Streamline Moderne - Bellona Hotel, Eforie, by George Matei Cantacuzino, 1934–1940^[87]
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  Streamline Moderne - Scala Cinema (Bulevardul Gheorghe Magheru no. 2), Bucharest, by Rudolf Fränkel, 1935^[88]

Art Deco was a type of modernism which appeared in France around 1910, as a style of luxury and modernity, highly associated with the Roaring 20s. It was present in Romania during the entire interwar period, creating a "luxurious and exuberant architecture, representative for the capitalist success",^[89] according to Ana Maria Zahariade. This style was used for administrative buildings, small apartment blocks of a few levels, and urban villas.

The movement had three phases: early, mature and late. The buildings of the 1920s and early 1930s are compositionally and stylistically similar with the Beaux-Arts ones from the 1900s and 1910s, but highly stylized and with a refined geometry. Pilasters and other Classical elements are used during this decade, but geometrized, together with simple floral motifs and abstract ornaments. An example of early Art Deco is the Central Social Insurance Company Building (now the Asirom Building) on Bulevardul Carol I, Bucharest, by Ion Ionescu, 1930s. Mature Art Deco, highly associated with the 1930s, was more modern and exuberant compared to the early form. Stepped setbacks are a key feature of this period. An example of mature Art Deco is Bulevardul Dacia no. 66, Bucharest, by Jean Monda, 1930s. Late Art Deco, from the late 1930s and the 1940s, paves the way for the International Style, but without completely abandoning ornamentation. Facades with 90° angle corners and decorated minimally only with simple cornices or each level are key features of this phase. However, this doesn't mean that these buildings are banal or dull. Materials of bright colours were used inside, especially marble and granite, and the exteriors usually had lightning rods. An example of late Art Deco is Piața Sfântul Ștefan no. 1, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1930s. At the same time, Streamline Moderne (Romanian: modernism pachebot) becomes popular in Romania, characterized by rounded corners and overall dynamism. An example of Romanian Streamline Moderne is the Moscovici Building (Strada Nicolae Iorga no. 22), Bucharest, by Aurel Focșanu and Emil Vițeanu, 1930s. Regardless of phase, Romanian Art Deco architecture is characterized by quality and more or less elegance through simplicity. Planned obsolescence is completely absent here.

Some of the best surviving examples of Art Deco are cinemas built in the 1920s and 1930s. The Art Deco period coincided with the conversion of silent films to sound, and movie companies built large display destinations in major cities to capture the huge audience that came to see movies. In Bucharest, the Regina Elisabeta Boulevard becomes a genuine film avenue, with its seven Art Deco cinemas. Soon, more movie theatres are built on the Gheroghe Magheru and Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevards and on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest. Besides cinemas, Romanian Art Deco also manifested through hotels, like Union (Strada Ion Câmpineanu no. 11, by Arghir Culina, 1929–1931), described as "the most beautiful and elegant hotel in the country".^[90] A real estate boom happens in the 1930s, when many small apartment blocks of a few stories are erected. Besides buildings, Art Deco monuments also appear, like the Monument to the Heroes of the Air on Bulevardul Aviatorilor, or the Zodiac Fountain at the main entrance of the Carol Park, both in Bucharest.^[91]

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  Polychrome marble facing in the entrance hall of Strada Pitar Moș no. 27–29, Bucharest, by Sady Herivan, 1931-1933^[92]
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  Popper Sanatorium, Predeal, by Marcel Iancu, 1934^[78]
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  Strada C.A. Rosetti no. 43, Bucharest, by Marcel Locar, 1934
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  Strada Alexandru D. Xenopol no. 3, Bucharest, by Ion I. Berindey, 1935-1936^[93]
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  Bulevardul Dacia no. 53, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1936^[94]
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  Strada Maria Rosetti no. 55, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1940
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  Radiator mask and polychrome mosaic floor in Strada C.A. Rosetti no. 55, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1940
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  Obor Covered Market Hall, Bucharest, 1937–1942: by Horia Creangă and Haralamb Georgescu, 1942–1946: by Haralamb Georgescu^[95]

During the 1930s and 1940s, Bauhaus Modernist ideas appear in Romanian architecture under the form of late Art Deco, very popular among young architects and the progressive bourgeoisie. Reinforced concrete apartment blocks and houses were built, made up of basic shapes, with horizontal or corner windows, usually with no symmetry. A typology of apartment blocks are the symmetrical U-shaped ones with courtyards. Important architects that built without decorating their buildings, similar with the International Style, include Horia Creangă, Duiliu Marcu, Octav Doicescu and Grigore Ionescu. Chronologically, the first architect that adopted without restraints Modernism was Marcel Iancu, who also designed some Cubist villas.

When Modernism entered the mainstream in the interwar period, the conservatives were initially horrified by the basic shapes, the simple lines, the lack of ornamentation and the austere look of the new buildings. Horia Creangă, the creator of some of the most iconic interwar Modernist buildings was nicknamed the "aristocrat of simple lines". Marcel Iancu wrote the reaction of some people towards the Fuchs Villa, the first Modernist house in Bucharest:

The neighbours don't understand why, instead of the old windows, the new house has a window that goes from an edge of the wall to another, like a mortuary display case. The attic eye, usually on the roof, is here in three examples, like some first class cabins of a transatlantic ship, and the garage seems to be the subsidiary of the central crematorium.^[96]

The 1930s represented a key decade of transformation of Bucharest. The period of popularity of Bauhaus Modernism intersects with intense modernizations of Bucharest from the interwar period, thus certain areas having a high density of tall Modernist buildings. Some good examples of this are the Gheorghe Magheru Boulevard and some parts of Calea Victoriei in Bucharest.

During World War II, architectural activity was very low. Some buildings that were started before the war, like the Victoria Palace in Bucharest, continued being built also during the war.^[97][98]

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  Adina Olmazu Woroniecka House, nicknamed the 'little palazzo' (Strada Ion Mincu no. 19), Bucharest, by Alexandru Zaharia, 1929-1930^[99]
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  Window of Strada George Enescu no. 14, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1930
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  Leon Vlodinger House (Strada Mircea cel Bătrân no. 43), Constanța, by Horia Maicu, 1935^[100]
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  Wrought iron lantern of the Richard Franasovici House (Strada Pitar Moș no. 20), Bucharest, by Alexandru Zaharia, 1936^[101]
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  Carol Gagel House (Strada Doctor Lister no. 32), Bucharest, by Anton Curagea and Ion Giurgea, 1937^[102]
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  General Mandiros Ciomac and Simion Ciomac Building (Strada Armenească no. 12), Bucharest, by Ion Giurgea, 1938^[103]
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  Column of the Ion Giurgea House (Strada Frumoasă no. 26A), Bucharest, by Ion Giurgea, 1940^[104]
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  Elena Florescu Building (Strada Popa Nan no. 32), Bucharest, by George Damian, 1943^[105]
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  Ionescu House (Bulevardul Aviatorilor no. 53), Bucharest, by George Damian, 1945^[106]
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  Strada Dionisie Lupu no 74, Bucharest, by George Damian, 1947^[107]
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  Calcio-vecchio plaster on a wall inside Strada Dionisie Lupu no. 74, Bucharest, by George Damian, 1947

A key style of the 1930s was the Moorish (Romanian: stilul Maur), aka Moorish-Florentine (Romanian: stilul mauro-florentin) or Mediterranean Picturesque (Romanian: stilul pitoresc mediteranean), which eclectically uses Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements in civic architecture, with a Mediterranean vibe. It is also defined by big plane surfaces on the facades, with coarser or finer calcio-vecchio plaster textures. These abrasive plaster facades have proven over time to be durable. Another characteristic is simplicity, its ornamentation usually standing in window frames, doors and columns. Pantile was used for roofs and window cornices, both for decorative and practical reasons. These covering tiles are an important feature that gives buildings a Mediterranean air. Another important element of the style were loggias, with slender columns and simple of ogive arches. Wooden pergolas sometimes appeared, being usually added only for decorative reasons. Houses tend to have small ogive or arch windows and big rooms, giving them a mystical and mysterious vibe. Exteriors can look like fortresses or small castles. They also have big monumental fireplaces, similar with the ones in Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series. Interiors usually had Renaissance or Louis XIII style furniture which matches with the style of the home. Most Moorish buildings are urban villas, apartment buildings being somewhat rare.

The style is a local version of Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival architecture, popular in the first half of the 20th century in Coastal California and Florida. However, its origins and rise in Romania are not clear. One source could be Regionalist architecture of Mediterranean Europe. In Istoria Civilizației Românești: Perioada Interbelică (1918-1940) (The History of the Romanian Civilization: The Interwar Period (1918-1940)), the historian Ioan Scurtu stated that between the two World Wars, many Romanians came to the French Riviera. These vacations to the Mediterranean seaside (including the Greek one) may have contributed to the rise of the Mediterranean style in Romania. Another country which could have influenced architects who designed Moorish buildings is Italy. The cloister of the Monreale Cathedral in Monreale, Sicily, visited and drawn multiple times by Romanian architect George Simotta, is similar stilistically with 1930s Moorish architecture. Another origin of the style may have been Balchik, a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of present-day northeastern Bulgaria. During the interwar period, it was part of Romania, and queen Marie of Romania started in 1925 the construction of a small summer palace. Later, writers like Jean Bart and Ion Pillat had residences in this area. Female architect Henrieta Delavrancea designed 20 villas here, in a style known as the "new Balchik" style.

Some architects rejected the style, like Constantin C. Moșchin, who criticizes its "decadence" in a 1935 article in the Arhitectura magazine. Another critical voice belonged to George Matei Cantacuzino, in an article entitled Mitocanul ca Factor al Civilizației Românești (The Lout as a Factor of Romanian Civilisation), published in the 1939 Simetria Magazine. There, he condemned the superficiality of a type client who was the product of a precarious education and research, who, "being informed only by the films he sees at the cinema, after exceedingly long meals and empty days, he would like his house to synthetise the décor of every romantic drama, where Mexican facades have Brâncovenesc elements, while Roman domes cover bathrooms and iconostases serve as bar tops for serving cocktails".^[108] During WW2, general Ion Antonescu, who had far-right and antisemitic views, disproves Moorish buildings, associating them with Jews. The end of WW2 is when the style truly disappears, with the rise of the Communist regime and Socialist realist architecture.^[109]

One of the most impressive examples of Moorish architecture is the Carol/Otto Gagel House on Strada Doctor Lister in Cotroceni, Bucharest, 1937, by Anton Curagea and Ion Giurgea,^[102] which shows its characteristics. Otto Gagel was the most famous bread and biscuit producer before WW1 and during the interwar period. He was also a provider of the Romanian Royal family, and had factories on the Arsenal Hill, which were demolished in the 1980s by the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime to make space for the Civic Centre.

• 
  ARO Building, Bucharest, 1929–1931, by Horia Creangă et al.^[110]
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  "Gold" small apartment block, Bucharest, 1934–1936, by Marcel Iancu^[111]
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  Malaxa-Burileanu Building, Bucharest, 1935–1937, by Horia Creangă^[112]
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  Dragomir-Niculescu Building on Calea Victoriei, Bucharest, 1936, by State Baloșin^[113]
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  Page of a magazine or newspaper that advertised elevators

This term of American origin refers to the buildings with multiple levels, built during the 1920s and 1930s, in various parts of the central area of Bucharest. The buildings of the Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard in Bucharest are mostly of this type, good examples of Romanian Modernism. Due to the fact that the seismic precautions of the intrwar period were not as good as the ones we have today, these blocks are dangerous when it comes to earthquakes. Because of this, today some of them have red circle stickers, known as bulina roșie (big red dot), highlighting the risk of crash.^[114]

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  Entrance of the Oil and Gas Institute Building on Calea Victoriei, Bucharest, by Duiliu Marcu, 1945-1946^[115]
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  Relief on the Rapsodia Hall on Strada Lipscani, Bucharest, late 1940s-1950s, unknown sculptor
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  Scînteia House, Bucharest, 1948–1955, by Horia Maicu, Nicolae Bădescu, Marcel Locar, Mircea Alifanti et al.^[116]
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  Colonels' Quarter, Bucharest, 1950–1960, by I.Novițchi, C.Ionescu, C.Hacker and A.Șerbescu^[117]
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  National Opera (Opera House and Ballet Theatre), Bucharest, 1952–1953, by Octav Doicescu, Paraschiva Iubu, Nicolae Cucu and Dan Slavici^[118]
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  Building in the Palace/Revolution Square, Bucharest, 1952–1954, by Richard Bordenache^[119]
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  "Brotherhood Between Nations" complex, Bucharest, 1954–1958, by N. Porumbescu, D. Bacalu and T. Stănescu^[120]
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  I.A.L. plate on Strada Apolodor in Bucharest

From 1948, the new Communist regime - so-called people's democracy - began to have a big control over all aspects of life, including architecture, dictating a uniform bureaucratic vision of urbanism and architectural design. This is when interwar Bauhaus-like Modernism ends in Romania, being replaced by Socialist Realism, the style that characterizes 1930s' Moscow architecture. Due to the fact that Romania had to recover after the war, examples of Socialist Realist architecture are relatively rare. The style is more or less easy to spot, by its use of Neoclassical elements and proportions, but in a simplified way (not to be confused with Stripped Classicism, which was much more minimalistic). Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was premier of the Socialist Republic of Romania from 1947 until 1965. He began the country's policies of industrialization, with infrastructure development for heavy industry, and construction for mass resettlement to new industrial and agricultural centers away from Bucharest and other principal cities.

During the Communist period, houses and apartment buildings built previously were nationalized. In 1950, with the Decree 92 of 19 April 1950, a huge number of private houses and lands are confiscated. Because of this, IAL (Întreprinderea de Administrare Locativă; the Enterprise of Locative Management) appeared, later renamed ICRAL (Întreprinderea de Construcții, Reparații și Administrare Locativă; the Enterprise for Building, Repairs, Locative Management). As the names suggest, this institution managed buildings, renovating them if necessary. Each nationalized building had a small metal tile with IAL and a unique code.

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  Palace Hall, Bucharest, by Horia Maicu, Tiberiu Ricci, Ignace Șerban and Romeo Balea, 1957–1960^[121]
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  Palace Hall residential complex, Bucharest, by Tiberiu Niga, G. Filipescu, L. Garcia and Anton Moisescu, 1959^[121]
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  Apartment buildings on Calea Griviței, Bucharest, by Virgil Nițulescu, Cleopatra Alifanti, Mircea Bercovici, Renzo Cărăușu, Nicolae Spirescu, Cristina Neagu and Willy Juster, 1958-1965^[122]
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  Hotels in Mamaia, Romania, with the Mamaia Summer Theatre in the right, Cezar Lăzărescu et al., 1958–1961
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  Railing in Strada Octavian no. 10, Alba Iulia, Romania, unknown architect, 1960s
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  Mosaic wall on a building in Alba Iulia, close to the town hall, unknown architect, 1960s
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  ROMEXPO Bucharest International Fair (EREN Pavilion), Bucharest, by Ascacio Damian, Mircea Enescu and Vera Hariton, 1963^[123]
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  Block N6, Strada Liviu Rebreanu no. 2, Bucharest, unknown architects, 1965–1967
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  Telephone Palace (Palatul Telefoanelor), Cluj-Napoca, by Vasile Mitrea, 1968
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  Dorobanți/Mihai Eminescu wing of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies (Bulevardul Dacia no. 41), Bucharest, by Cleopatra Alifanti et al., 1967-1970^[124]
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  ALMO in the Obor Square, Bucharest, by Mircea Săndulescu, Antonio Teodorov, Eugen Cosmatu; engineers: M. Navodaru, L. Neagoe et al., 1973–1975^[125]
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  Strada Polonă no. 1–5, Bucharest, unknown architects, late 1970s

There are millions of people who in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s had gone through urbanization. They are taken haphazardly from villages and forced to work in factories. They'd live in a flat for the first time in their lives. Had a fridge for the first time. Had a TV and a radio for the first time. Prior to the mid-1970s, Bucharest, as most other cities, was developed by expanding the city, especially towards the south, east, and west.

High density dormitory neighbourhoods were built at the outskirts of cities. Due to these expansions, suburban villages and commune were administratively annexed by big cities. For example, in the case of Bucharest, during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the Obor, Pantelimon, Berceni, Bucureștii Noi, Giurgiului, and Titan areas were newly incorporated into the city.

Contrary to the principle of equality that the Communist regime promoted, the collective housing projects from the period had different qualities. Some were designed to cram in as many people as possible, while others had large apartments for the ruling elite.

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  Palace of Parliament, Bucharest, started in 1984, by Anca Petrescu^[126]
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  Apartment block on Bulevardul Unirii, Bucharest, the 1980s, unknown architects
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  Piața Iuliu Maniu no. 14, Alba Iulia, Romania, 1980s, unknown architects

Nationalism, characterizing the last stage of Romanian communism, did not extend to contemporary Romanian architecture. Romanian Systematization was the program of urban planning carried out under the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu (r. 1965–1989), after his 1971 visit to North Korea and China. It forced projects, designed with an architecture of pre-fab technology, that resulted in the construction of high density dormitory neighborhoods, with huge housing blocks of numerous eight to ten-story buildings housing flats, that leveled core district cityscapes. The fast urban growth respected neither traditional rural values nor a positive ethic of urbanism.

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  Enei Church, Bucharest, 1720–1724, demolished in 1977, unknown architect^[127]
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  Grigore Cerkez House on Strada Sevastopol, Bucharest, 1898, demolished in 1977, probably by Grigore Cerkez^[128]
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  Mihai Vodă Monastery, Bucharest, founded in 1594, demolished in 1985-1986 while the church and the bell tower were moved 270 meters from their initial place to be saved, by engineer Eugeniu Iordăchescu behind 1980s apartment buildings, unknown architect^[129]
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  Facade of the new part of the Brâncovenesc Hospital in Piața Unirii, Bucharest, 1880–1890, demolished in 1986,^[130] by Karl Benisch
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  Les Halles-inspired smaller hall in Piața Unirii, Bucharest, 1872, demolished in 1986, unknown architect^[128][131]
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  Intrarea Libertății no. 3, Bucharest, c.1900, demolished in the 1980s, unknown architect
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  Splaiul Independenței no. 19–21, Bucharest, c.1900, demolished in the 1980s, unknown architect
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  Buildings in Ovidiu Square, Constanța, c.1900-1910, demolished in the 1980s, except the Romanian Revival building from the far right side, unknown architects
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  Map of Bucharest centre, highlighting with red the spaces demolished during the Ceaușescu period, on display during an exhibition in the Bucharest City Hall in June 2021
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  Map of the Uranus area of Bucharest, highlighting with red the spaces occupied by building erected during the Ceaușescu period, on display during an exhibition in the Bucharest City Hall in June 2021. Today, the area shown is largely occupied by the Palace of Parliament, its garden and the Izvor Park

Traditional urban central areas and rural towns were destroyed in a process sarcastically dubbed Ceaușima. They were replaced by conglomerates of blocks of flats and industrial projects. His 'Food Complex' buildings (Circ al foamei), dubbed Hunger circuses, were identical large domed buildings intended as produce markets and food hypermarkets. Ceauşescu also imposed the erection of monumental public buildings, of a dull and eclectic classical solemnity.

The dominant example of the intrusion of Ceaușima egotism into the traditional urban fabric is the Centrul Civic (civic center) in the capital, with its grandiose and huge government palace built by Nicolae Ceauşescu, the 'Palace of the People' now post-revolution renamed the Palace of the Parliament. The civic district's construction necessitated the demolition of much of southern Bucharest beyond the Dâmboviţa River, with 18th and 19th century neighborhoods and their significant architectural masterpieces destroyed. The dominating government Palace is the world's largest civilian building with an administrative function, most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building. It and other edifices in the Centrul Civic are modern concrete buildings behind neoclassical quasi-fascist marble façades.

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  Charles de Gaulle Plaza, Bucharest, 2000–2006, by Vladimir Arsene et al.^[132]
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  Tower blocks near Văcărești Nature Park, Bucharest, 2006–2010, by Călin Negoescu, Cristina Găleată, Ștefan Cătălin, Cristian Craiveanu, Alexandru Cutelecu^[133]
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  Cathedral Plaza Bucharest, Bucharest, 2007–2011, by Vladimir Arsene, Cristina Ștefan, Onar Gerelioglu et al.^[134]
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  Strada Dimitrie Racoviță no. 4A, Bucharest, 2017, by Corina Dîndărean^[135]
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  OTOTO Amzei, Bucharest, 2021, unknown interior designer
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  American-inspired house at the intersection of Strada Stănilești and Strada Duetului, Bucharest, 2022, unknown architect

The Romanian Revolution of 1989 ousted Nicolae Ceaușescu and Communist rule. The post-revolution Romanian culture has, in architecture and planning, been developing new concepts and plans for the country's needs of functionality and national aesthetics in an international context. Many modern 21st century buildings are mostly made of glass and steel. Another a trend is to add modern wings and façades to historic buildings (for example the Headquarters of the Union of Romanian Architects building).

Examples of post-1989 architecture include: Bucharest Financial Plaza, Arena Națională, City Gate Towers, Bucharest Tower Center. Modern high rise residential buildings include the Asmita Gardens.

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  Demolitions - late-19th and early-20th century houses in front of the Școala Centrală National College on Strada Icoanei, Bucharest, demolished in late November 2021 after decades of continuous decay, to make space for an apartment building
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  Mutilations - Calea Călărașilor no. 75, Bucharest, a small interwar Art Deco apartment building, where each owner painted the exterior of their apartment how they wanted, thermally insulated or not, thus destroying its facade
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  Ruins - Solacolu Inn on Calea Moșilor, Bucharest, a building valuable through its age, from the 1840s and modified during the reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866), left in a state of ruin, because of the indifference and lack of action of the local authorities, of the inhabitants and of the local community
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  Decay - Calea Dudești no. 125, Bucharest, a Belle Époque mansion, left to crumble, because of the indifference and lack of action of the local authorities, of the inhabitants and of the local community
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  Facadism - Strada Olteni no. 1, Bucharest, one of the few buildings that remained in the area behind Unirea Shopping Center after the massive demolitions from the mid and late-1980s, with its interior and height changed. The only original element remains the facade
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  Replacements - Pipe of Strada Popa Soare no. 39, Bucharest. While the lower solid cast iron part of the pipe is still there, the upper one was replaced with something a questionable quality
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  Modifications - Dimitrie Cesianu House (Calea Victoriei no. 174), the former German legation/embassy on Calea Victoriei, Bucharest, renovated and changed thought the adding of new structures during the late 2010s-2021
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  Reconversions - Strada Arthur Verona no. 15, Bucharest. Together with the Dimitrie Sturdza House, they form the Cărturești Verona bookshop, thus being put in value with the change of their initial residential function
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  Good preservations - Hermann I. Rieber carriage factory, Bucharest, a gem of the Belle Époque, that despite not being renovated in recent years, is still in a good condition
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  Good renovations and restorations - Mița the Cyclist House, Bucharest, a Belle Époque house from the 1900s, in a state of decay before the mid-2010s, restored and brought to its former glory

• Wooden churches of Maramureș
• List of Romanian architects
• List of buildings in Bucharest

• Romanian Architecture Gallery