Architecture with calm presence. Engineering with structural clarity.
Ionescu-Lupeanu Design & Engineering brings together architecture, structural engineering and technical coordination under one calm, rigorous design culture. The studio works from concept to construction, balancing proportion, material, light, context and structural logic. Founded 2017, with offices in Bucharest and Craiova.
44.4268° N, 26.1025° E — Bucharest · 44.3302° N, 23.7949° E — Craiova
One studio, two disciplines.
§02 — disciplineMost projects pass between an architect and an engineer. Here they share a table.
Architecture sets the proportion, the material, the way light enters and the way a building sits in its context. Engineering gives that intent a structure that can be built — a superstructure sized for seismic and wind demand, detailed for the site, and drawn to the level a contractor needs. Neither discipline waits for the other to finish. Design decisions are tested against structure early, and structural decisions are made with the drawing in mind.
The result is a single voice. Geometry, material and light on one side; load paths, stability and buildability on the other. Everything else is tools.
Method.
§03 — from concept to constructionThe studio works in three measured movements, and the same two people carry a project across all three.
Concept
Proportion, material and the reading of the site come first. We study massing, the framed view, the play of light and the logic of the plan. A concept is only kept if it can hold under later engineering.
Engineering
The concept is given a structure. Reinforced concrete or steel, sized for seismic and wind loads, checked for stability and stiffness, and coordinated with the architecture so that structure and space agree rather than compete. This is where ambition is made buildable.
Documentation
Construction-oriented drawings, BIM models and technical coordination close the loop. The intent set in the concept phase survives into the details a builder holds on site. Nothing is left to be resolved later that could be resolved now.
Two directors. Two disciplines. One studio.
Dr. Arh. Marcel Ionescu-Lupeanu
Marcel leads architecture and design. His work covers concept design, technical documentation, energy-efficient buildings, interior design, materiality and spatial composition. He is responsible for the reading of a site, the proportion of a plan and the way a building meets light and context. The design language of the studio — calm, mineral, considered — is his.
Dr. Ing. Silviu Cristian Ionescu-Lupeanu
Silviu leads structural engineering and technical coordination. His work covers structural engineering, steel structures, reinforced concrete, seismic and wind design, BIM, Tekla Structures and construction-oriented documentation. He is responsible for turning architectural intent into a structure that stands, resists and can be built — from the load path to the last detail on the drawing.
Selected work as proof.
§05 — built portfolioThe studio's built portfolio is Romanian: a school at Ocolna, a kindergarten at Benești, houses in Simnic and on Despot Vodă in Bucharest, a spa centre at Gighera, and a set of industrial halls, storage facilities and offices between 2018 and 2025.
Read as transferable proof, it is directly relevant to resort work. The houses carry villa-scale craft and materiality. The public buildings carry approvals literacy and the rigour of works that must satisfy authorities. The spa centre at Gighera is a genuine wellness and hospitality precedent. The industrial halls carry long-span steel and Tekla detailing. These are the capabilities a resort draws on — proven on real buildings, not claimed.
The international model.
§06 — how we work abroadThe studio is positioned for international resort design and engineering, beginning with the Maldives and extending to Greece and the wider Mediterranean. In-house resort projects — from the Maldives series to the Mediterranean studies — are self-initiated design studies, not built projects. They exist to show how the studio thinks about lagoon sites, lightweight and corrosion-aware structures, and design in demanding coastal contexts.
For international projects — including the Maldives, Greece and other jurisdictions — local approvals, statutory submissions, code compliance and professional sign-off are handled together with local licensed architects, engineers, structural checkers, EIA consultants, coastal/marine specialists, fire consultants and MEP/utilities consultants. The studio is a technical design partner; it does not replace local consultants.