Sipot Villa, the House of the Architects who built the Peleș Royal Domain under extensive consolidation process

The Association for Royal Peleș Heritage started in November 2022 the consolidation works of the building – historical monument Şipot Villa, part of the Peleș Royal Domain and the place where the project of one of the symbol buildings of Romania was born: Peleș Castle.

It is the most important conservation, restoration and development of the historical, architectural and natural heritage of the Sinaia Royal Domain in the last 60 years. After the completion of the works, the monument building will be returned to the cultural and tourist circuit of Romania.

The restoration process was started in mid-2022, and the initiators of the project are confident that they will be able to complete it by the end of 2023.

Villa Șipot, also known as the “House of the Architects”, was the workshop and home of the Czech architect of the Royal House, Karel Liman, during the design activities of the extensions and arrangement of the Peleș Castle, which he brought, at the beginning of the century, to the form that we know today.

According to historical documents, King Carol I himself made frequent visits to the architectural office to oversee the design and implementation of his requirements. The building is located on the valley of the Peleș stream and constitutes, together with the access road to Pelișor Castle, the western side of the domain from Sinaia, near Economat.

Villa Șipot – House of Architects returned to the possession of King Mihai in 2011, after a long period of exploitation by RA APPS, which had used it as a tourist villa, but without making major investments in its restoration and maintenance.

During the alienation of the Villa from the royal heritage, the original furniture was replaced with one specific to the 70s-80s, in contradiction with the architectural identity of the building, and the interiors deteriorated due to unprofessional renovations, the lack of heating systems, poor insulation and of severe infiltrations from the roof. Over time, the villa reached a pre-collapse situation and could no longer be opened to the public.

Since November, however, thanks to APRP supporters, we have been able to start the revival process of this magnificent building.

With the authorization of the Ministry of Culture, the works started this year aim at the replacement of the thermal and electrical sanitary installations, the restoration of the terrace that covers the space that will be intended for the Gallery of Peleș Architects, as well as the recently started consolidation works. For the year 2023, restoration works are planned for the exterior facades of Villa Șipot, as well as the restoration of the original stained glass windows (which represent an element of special architectural value, directly associated with the identity of the Romanian royalty).

Following the model of the great historical monuments of the world, Vila Şipot will be able to be exploited later by opening it as a tourist attraction, multifunctional space for events, inspirational work space for young architects or with other creative professions, etc.

The restoration of Villa Şipot is carried out exclusively through funding obtained from a national fundraising campaign, run by the Association for the Royal Peleș Heritage. Numerous companies and individual donors have already joined the efforts to restore Villa Şipot, the main sponsor being CEC Bank.

The total value of the investments required to restore the monument to its original state of brilliance, as designed by the architects of the time, amounts to over half a million euros, and the completion date is set for the end of 2023.