Casa Popeea is an Iconic Art Nouveau Building in the Historic Hellenic Quarter of Braila, Romania

Casa Popeea is an iconic art nouveau building in the historic Hellenic quarter of Brăila, Romania, built in 1900. Its history is troubled: a fire partially destroyed the building in 1923, and confiscation by the Socialist regime after WW2 led to dereliction. From 2005, urgent consolidation works were required. 

Manea Kella worked closely with Tracon to transform Casa Popeea into an 11-room boutique hotel with high quality facilities for guests and the public. The small but complex site called for a coherent strategy to resolve issues of access, circulation and internal space. With careful separation of public and guest access, the main entrance takes you through a courtyard to an intimate, quiet and light-filled reception area in the heart of the building, while the secondary entrance guides you past hand-moulded plastered walls through to Café Popeea, an artisanal coffee shop and brasserie open to both hotel guests and the public. 

The restoration emphasises the original spatial context and its materiality. The dark palette in the reception, lobby and coffee shop, with stained solid oak floors, joinery and bespoke furniture opens up to a light-filled stairwell. The original oak staircase has been meticulously restored with the help of carpenters from Transylvania and the use of 1:1 models. 

The spa environment invites reflection and relaxation with a refined palette of natural materials including Bulgarian limestone, black marble and stained solid oak. Lighting apertures in the ceiling and through the window louvres bring cool light from outside and emphasise the reflective quality of the stone and warmth of the oak.

Project Information

Architect: Manea Kella