Simbio is a project born from the very close collaboration between SYAA’s team and the clients. One of the challenges was to create an environment in which clients retrieve the welcoming atmosphere of the former Simbio space that existed for a few years in Bucharest’s Old Town.

The project began in the spring of 2014 and went through all the specific phases of rehabilitation of a house built in the early 20th century. Simbio is a place where you can spend pleasant moments at brunch, taking dinner with friends or simply working. Therefore, the arrangement had to be primarily welcoming to guests. Moreover, the space had two roles to play: to be perfectly functional for the restaurant, but also to be representative for the house on 26 Negustorilor Street that existed for a century there. The house had already well defined spaces. It was obvious from the beginning that the bar will be at the basement, the restaurant with show kitchen on the ground floor and the working space in the attic.

From the start, the intention was to keep and bring to light the valuable items, and, where necessary, to come to completion with finishes as close as possible to the era in which the house was built. Simple materials and processes were mainly used, with very few exceptions in cases of water infiltration in walls. Paint and wall finishes were applied in the idea to solve specific problems of rehabilitation – moisture, consolidation, aspect etc. The original Meissen stoves were kept and restored piece by piece. About 90% of the furniture was designed and produced for Simbio by local workshops from reclaimed oak wood with new insertions of ash, metal (iron, copper, brass) and antique mirror. The rest of the objects were found by the beneficiaries at flea markets, warehouses and on the internet. The lights retrieve and develop the skylight motif from the salon, while the mirrored bar makes the connection between the zenith light and the backyard.

Design: SYAA
Photography: Catalin Georgescu