Șuțu villa

This villa was built in 1898 by the architect Grigore Cerchez (1850 - 1927), who was also an engineer. After he completed his studies in Paris, he worked in Bucharest as both architect and engineer. He even became Bucharest’s chief engineer between 1876 and 1879. He was one of the promotors of the Romanian architectural current, but worked in other styles as well (neoclassical, eclectic). Some of his best works include: the Faculty of Architecture in Bucharest, a wing of Cotroceni Palace, the Antipa Museum, the National Bank in Brăila. He had a special project in Constanța – the Șuțu villa, built by the sea in Moorish style. The owner was Michael C. Șuțu (1841 - 1933), descendant of a high ranking family: his great grandfather, also named Mihai Șutu, was the ruler of Wallachia and Moldavia (by the rotation imposed by the Sublime Porte), and Constantin Șuțu, his father, was a former Minister of Finance under the reign of Alexandru D. Ghica. He himself was an outstanding personality: Member of the Romanian Academy, engineer who graduated in Paris, he held positions in the Ministry of Estates, then ascended the hierarchical ladder as general manager of the Postal Service, Adviser to the High Court of Accounts, and National Bank Governor. He is among the leading numismatists and metrologists of the time. The construction permit was released on July 29, 1898, and the impetuous Villa Șuțu was built on the rocky eastern shore of the old Tomis, and was one of the few terraced structures at the time. There is an abundance of Moorish elements that takes us straight to Spanish Andalusia, well-known for this particular architectural style. The Șuțu villa was requisitioned by the communists, and became the headquarters of the Creation House in 1947, and was then passed on to the Consulate of Czechoslovakia. In 2011, after a long series of lawsuits, the Court of Appeal ruled that the villa be returned to the rightful heirs. arch. Radu Cornescu