Victoria Palace, Bucharest
Victoria Palace is located in Bucharest. It is a beautiful monumental building, which rises at Victoria Square in the Romanian capital. The building was built in 1937. Currently the offices of Prime Minister of Romania and its affiliates are located there.
The building is the work of the famous Romanian Professor Mark Duiliu, who graduated from the School of Architecture in Bucharest, and then graduated brilliantly from the School of Fine Arts in Paris. Professor Duiliu’s style was strongly influenced by the French academic tradition and the Neo-Romanesque style.
In the thirties of last century, Mark Duiliu created several culturally and historically significant buildings in the Romanian capital. These are the Higher Military School, the Palace of the railway department and Victoria Palace. All buildings, the work of Professor Mark Duiliu are designed not as isolated buildings that are built for themselves, but as components of an urban ensemble which fits into the overall vision of the city. All buildings, designed by Professor Duiliu are built in the tradition of neoclassicism and seem alike.
Victoria Palace, which is a real jewel in the works of Professor Duiliu was started in 1937 and finally built in 1944. In 1944 it was partially destroyed by bombing, but in 1952 restoration work on the building was finished and it looked like it does today.
The initial goal was for Victoria palace to serve as headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During communism, the building performed exactly this purpose, then it was the place where the Council of Ministers of Romania was located. In 2004, Victoria Palace is included in the list of historical monuments of the country.
In 2007 a national competition for architects was declared, which aimed at extending the Victoria Palace according to the growing needs of government. The competition, which had a jury of nine experts in the field of architecture and urbanism, was won by the Amsterdam architect who planned the construction of a completely new building near the palace and a connection with the old building through an E-shaped configuration.
To achieve transparency, the competition used digital identification of competitors, in order to avoid possible nepotism. Only after the winner is announced, the names of the authors of the projects were revealed, they were previously known only as numerical combinations. According to project, in the new architectural ensemble, which formed the new and old buildings, several gardens are scattered, each of which represents a region of Romania. Government Hall is located in the new building and the old building is connected by a walkway.
The new part of the project is built from the same material from which the old building was made and, but the new building combined these with polished rough forms. This gives contrast to the entire building, which is like a counterpoint to the massive old building. Abstracts on the windows give a modern vision of the new extension of the Victoria Palace, which may be referred to as the most modern buildings in the Romanian capital.
