Residential complexes

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Adina

Metalurgiei Residence

Victor

Cosmopolis

Roxana

Felicity

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In Bucharest, the real estate boom of the 2000s resulted, other issues aside, in the appearance of a particular type of habitation: living in newly-built residential compounds, oftentimes (but not exclusively) located in the suburbs.

A significant number of these compounds are "gated communities", i.e. enclaved spaces with a high degree of access control (for cars, people etc.), which tend to provide special services for the residents, who ordinarily would have to leave the respective perimeter in order to benefit from them.

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Adina

Metalurgiei Residence

Although living and working in Bucharest were not originally an option for Adina when she came here from Suceava, she gave up the option to work abroad and decided to buy a house of her own. Adina considers that the new space of the studio she bought is like a homestead that offers her the tranquility and intimacy she needs at the end of a frantic day in Bucharest.

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Victor

Cosmopolis

Victor associates living in a residential compound with safety and community spirit, which are very important aspects to him in choosing a place to live. For Victor, the desire to live in a residential compound came from the example of the American suburbs depicted in movies he saw in his childhood, showing a quiet life, a close relationship with the neighbors and a certain degree of comfort.

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Roxana

Felicity

For a young family, the birth of a baby may raise the issue of rethinking the housing situation, an orientation towards a clean air area, as an alternative to the conditions of the block quarters. From Roxana's viewpoint, these are advantages that go beyond the high-expense issues (e.g. transport and administrative expenses) involved in living in a developing residential compound.

 

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Dana și Matei

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Dana and Matei grew up and spent their childhood in Drumul Taberei. They knew each other from high school. Their Bucharest began with the Favorit area and ended in Ghencea, at the end of the line of tram 41. They knew every streets and alleys and they had never imagined they would ever move out. Then they went to college and their Bucharest got bigger, to the University or the Polytechnic College, to Romană or Victoriei Plaza, to Berceni or Tineretului or to wherever their new college mates lived.

After that they moved their clothes and books together, still in Drumul Taberei, in a house with pink walls and pieces of furniture randomly collected by the owner of the flat. It didn't look nice and they didn't get along with the owner, either. They did not invest too much in the apartment and they never felt at home, as "on rent you are never home". They took a credit and moved in their home near Bragadiru, in a residential compound. When they moved in, the compound was still under construction, there was a whole construction site around them, but they were at home and there was a smell of lime and freshness everywhere.

First, they bought a mattress, and they had their first breakfast at home on a box of books. Then came the table, the chairs, the bookcase, the desk; the drapes and the carpet came later, almost a year after moving in. The third room is still waiting for its furniture and for the third member of the family as well. Their parents gave them a lot of help and very few objects. Dana's parents bought the drapes, which Dana had chosen, matching her image on how they would look like, when she first stepped in the apartment. Matei's parents bought them the kitchen table and the chairs, which Dana had chosen when strolling through the furniture stores.

However, because they chose what they wanted to receive, they never saw these pieces of furniture as objects with emotional value. They also chose their flooring and tiles. They had an amount of money set by the real estate developer, and they chose the color, the shapes, the patterns and the quality, taking care not to exceed the budget.

Matei supervised the work, he used to go there once a week to see how their apartment was growing, how the walls were tiled, how the floor tiles were fixed, and when in the end the parquet was in place, they moved in: the two of them and a mattress.

They liked the new apartment because it was larger and cleaner than any old apartment they had ever seen, and the distance from the city does not scare them away, on the contrary, they enjoy it, as even the air is cleaner here.

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Parcul de joaca

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You can contribute in our documentation of the experience of living and dwelling in the present day Bucharest and you can take part at the development of The Bucharest Housing Stories project. Share your experience, your knowledge and your photos on the Bucharest Housing Stories platform.

Any story is part of something bigger, something we can call „reality”, „history”, „society” „life” etc. Our documented cases from the project don’t cover all the aspects and contexts of living and housing. Together we can add layers to The Big Story of living and housing in Bucharest and its surroundings.

  • • You are living in Bucharest since you were born, you started living here at some point or you lived here for a period of time: join The Bucharest Housing Stories community;
  • • You are part of a NGO or an informal group whose activity is related to housing: join The Bucharest Housing Stories community;
  • • You know and you have experienced a particular type of living and dwelling which can’t be placed in any of the 7 episodes of our project: join The Bucharest Housing Stories community;
  • • You did research or you are doing research on the topic of housing/dwelling: join The Bucharest Housing Stories community;
  • • You have family photos that capture the topic of housing from any period of time: join The Bucharest Housing Stories community;
  • • For any other aspect uncovered in the lines above: join The Bucharest Housing Stories community;

We invite you to send us your own contribution in the form of text or photos. In the case of photos, please specify: the approximate date when the photo was taken, the type of dwelling, the context in which the photo was taken.





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