Basil Assan House

* The article was published in 1913 in Innen Dekoration. Die Gesamte Wohnungskunst in Bild und Wort Herausgeber Hofrat,Verlag Alex Koch, Darmstadt, XXIV, 1913,

p. 84-95, translation prof. dr. dr. arh. Hanna Derer.

The people of Bucharest look with astonishment and curiosity at the new construction that is the villa Assan, a rectangular, coquettish, brilliant white edifice by the Viennese architect Marcel Kammerer - one of the pupils of the superior counselor Wagner - which was completed five years after the beginning of the construction work. The new style has hardly penetrated at all in Romania, where very few people know and appreciate this new universe of forms, which explains the astonishment of people who call this building the "porcelain house" because, thanks to its alabaster finishes and its taut, simple shape, it looks like a bright, white temple. The top of the facade is plastered white, the cornice is colored in blue, white and black.

A bas-relief symbolizing family happiness has been made as a decoration of the extremely simple facade on which the entrance is located, above the low glass awning. Steps in light gray marble lead into the black and white tiled vestibule, which includes the staircase and from where the view through three glass doors into the adjoining rooms. The wardrobe walls are lined with blue, black and white cloth, the floors are white, blue and silver, and all the metal parts are aluminum. In the home's main living room, an imposing, large-scale space, a cascade of light pours through the white and yellow crystal-glazed wall. The room's centerpiece is the fireplace flanked by two sofas.

A novelty is the arrangement of two marble niches and two paintings above the fireplace. The woodwork is bright lemon wood, the color of which is highlighted by gold and white accents. Small corner display cases house precious souvenirs from travels, while large comfy armchairs and Japanese folding screens complete the lounge's cozy arrangement. A four-cane door surmounted by a marble relief leads into the spacious dining-room, an extremely bright and friendly room, in which the walls are white except for a narrow outline of green; the continuous wainscoting around the perimeter of the room, the sideboard and the two cupboards, in which the heating units have been ingeniously fitted, and which can thus be used as servants, are made of yellowish maple wood. From the living room you can pass on one side to the large terrace covered with a pergola where you can dine in summer, and on the other to the small sitting room and conservatory. The walls of the former are upholstered in gray mohair, and the embroidery and blue velvet appliqués on the edges of the walls and the medallions on the armchairs and sofas harmonize perfectly with this shade and the gray of the carpet.

The showcases and furniture are made of pearwood in a warm shade with black accents. The music room, adjoining the music room, is graceful and elegant. The low wainscoting, the piano and a small organ are made of maple wood, and the armchairs and chairs are upholstered in cream mohair with yellow stripes. This music salon was recently exhibited in Vienna. The gentleman's study is completely dark-blue, and serves, by the arrangement of the niches and corners, equally well for work and rest; a peculiar decoration of the room is, besides the paintings, the precious objects brought from Japan, &c., the beautiful carpet, woven after a design by Professor Delavilla. All the ground-floor rooms are based on designs by Professor Carl Witzmann of Vienna, executed by J. Soulek of Vienna. The ground floor also contains the porcelain tiled kitchen and its annexes.

Read the full text in Arhitectura 6/2012.