In the heart of Bucharest, a city defined by its eclectic layers of history, architects Anca Lungu of DORON Atelier and Kelvin Silva of OMAMBO have realized a residential project that transcends mere habitation. Titled Rather Two, the 80-square-meter apartment serves as a physical manifesto of the couple’s union—both creative and personal—as they married during the project’s realization. This intimacy is woven into the very fabric of the space, moving away from rigid stylistic definitions toward a dwelling shaped by emotion, memory, and a sophisticated dialogue between two distinct cultural heritages.
A choreography of cultural narratives guides the internal logic of the home, drawing from Anca’s Romanian roots and Kelvin’s Angolan and European background. The design team intentionally avoided the clinical minimalism often seen in modern renovations, opting instead for a “two-box” concept that organizes the apartment’s original, sharp geometry into a series of immersive atmospheres. By utilizing varying ceiling heights of up to three meters and an eight-meter-deep living space, the layout creates a rhythmic flow of compression and decompression, shifting the inhabitant’s perspective as they move through the residence.
The sensory journey begins at the Green Box, a strongly introverted entry point that acts as a palette cleanser before revealing the expansive living area. Here, the interior world connects with the Bucharest cityscape, though the view is softly filtered through the lush crown of a historic tree. This transition is echoed in the Wood Box, which serves as a warm, tactile prelude to the sleeping quarters. In a deliberate effort to introduce fluidity into the rectilinear floor plan, Anca Lungu and Kelvin Silva specified furnishings with soft, rounded edges, fostering a sense of movement and freedom that counters the apartment’s structural rigidity.
Technical ingenuity meets multifunctional living in the elongated main room. To maximize the footprint, the architects re-dimensioned the living space using a double-faced acoustic curtain, carving out a flexible zone that oscillates between a bedroom, an office, and a dressing area. This single, transformative unit allows the small-scale apartment to breathe, adapting to the needs of the day without compromising the clarity of the design. It is a pragmatic solution that reflects the architects’ diverse training, merging Swiss refinement with a deep understanding of urban density.
Materiality and craftsmanship define the tactile experience of Rather Two, where the “rough” meets the “refined.” Warm wood and cold stone sit alongside innovative applications of recycled PET boards, developed in collaboration with Smile Plastics. These sustainable panels introduce unexpected translucency and flecks of color, grounding the project in contemporary environmental consciousness. This commitment to raw, honest materials and local heritage we have previously explored in Romanian residential interiors, where the dialogue between “East and West” is expressed through manual artistry.
Artistic interventions serve as the emotional anchors of the home, particularly through three custom pieces designed by the founders. Kelvin’s marquetry artwork, Infinite Sunset, uses ALPI Italy veneers to merge references from the Romanian sculptor Brâncuși with the traditional Chokwe tribal masks of Angola. Nearby, the Onda stool provides a sculptural nod to Kelvin’s childhood by the sea, while a dining bench crafted from repurposed Transylvanian floor joists features hand-painted motifs by artist Maria Grigore, inspired by the folklore of Oltenian carpets.
A curated selection of global design icons and contemporary art further layers the space, ensuring it feels timeless rather than trend-driven. Works by Romanian painter Dragoș Bădiță resonate with the mood of specific rooms, while textiles from ZigZagZurich and lighting from Flos and Muuto provide a cosmopolitan counterpoint to the bespoke local elements. This blend of international design language and hyper-local production creates a space that is as much a gallery of the couple’s life as it is a functional home.
The synthesis of personal identity and spatial design reaches its peak in the apartment’s quietest corners. By allowing art and craft to dictate the aesthetic standards rather than following a predetermined “look,” DORON Atelier and OMAMBO have created a residence that feels profoundly experiential. It is a home that celebrates the beauty of contrast—between the soft and the rough, the local and the global—and proves that the most compelling spaces are those that tell a deeply human story.