26 aluminium exterior doors for the Pipera Gardens residential complex

„I need 26 front doors and I need them now.” — Ana Ospina, development director, Ospinas & Co

The first thing you see as you approach a house is the front door. The first thing you touch is the handle. The door is a portal from the outside to the inside — and, on a subconscious level, it sets the tone for your relationship with the home.

Ana Ospina, development director at Ospinas & Co, has always understood this. In August 2019, when she took over the running of the company in Romania, she visited the building site for the new Pipera Gardens neighbourhood — a project in its final stages of development, begun in November 2018.

Ospinas & Co is a multigenerational family business, originally from Colombia, with offices in Colombia, Spain and Bucharest — active in real estate and construction for nearly 100 years.

First impressions always matter

„The doors were already fitted when I joined the company in August 2019. My predecessor hadn't given much thought to the original doors, but once people start moving in, these details come to light. When you build premium, everything has to be premium.” — Ana Ospina

Ana's first impression of the front doors on the Pipera Gardens houses was not the happiest one — and it could not stay that way. The original doors had deteriorated in appearance after just 1 year of use: the paint had peeled, they were not airtight, and their level of quality fell short of the premium-luxury standard set by the rest of the elements in the houses.

Personal involvement is part of the ethos of a family company. Ana knows every element of an Ospinas real estate development — and the doors simply had to be replaced.

„As soon as I saw the original doors, I called Sorana at Miso Architects, our interior design partners, and asked her to recommend the best custom door professionals in Bucharest — the premium-luxury suppliers, not their second-place competition. She told me without hesitation that I should visit Kulttur. I got in touch with Alex at Kulttur and said straight away, «I need 26 front doors and I need them now».” — Ana Ospina

How we handled the door project for Pipera Gardens

Ana came to our showroom with a clear requirement (and a lesson learned) — exterior doors within an acceptable budget, durable, airtight and well insulated thermally. The difference in price compared with the original doors was significant, but so was the difference in quality.

We removed the existing doors and installed in their place aluminium exterior doors from the Pro Kulttur range — with high thermal insulation and weather resistance thanks to the aluminium profile. As this was a residential complex, all 26 doors were designed to the same unified model, for visual coherence across the entire development. Two of the doors were fitted with a fingerprint reader for access control.

The installation was carried out in stages — individual site preparation for each house, removal, fitting of the new door, final adjustments.

„The exterior door is a highly visible, interactive element and a very risky one technically, because of the temperature difference between outside and inside, being permanently exposed to the elements. There is a difference of almost 100 degrees between winter and summer, while inside a constant temperature has to be maintained — so high construction standards are essential.” — Alex Rică, Kulttur

For a property developer, the post-delivery maintenance side matters enormously too — the recommended hinge adjustments after a few years of use, technical support, the guarantee. We took on this entire package in a direct relationship with Ospinas & Co.

Technical specifications — Pipera Gardens project

A visit to Pipera Gardens

Pipera Gardens is Ospinas' third and newest residential project in Romania, located in Voluntari, the northern area of Bucharest, 45 Emil Racoviță Street. It is a complex of 36 houses divided into 9 modules of 4 houses each (ground floor plus one, 5–6 rooms) on plots of 208 sqm each.

The design was carried out by Romanian architects in collaboration with a Spanish team — to combine local habits and needs with the most modern concepts. The complex offers easy access to the A3 Bucharest–Ploiești motorway, private roads and a family lifestyle in a peaceful setting.

„Our main objective was to develop 9 modules made up of 4 houses, so that each family shares the community space but has its own walls and gardens for privacy and quiet. We wanted to share this feeling of having personal space while also being in contact with your neighbours — a concept that helps people develop a sense of community.” — Ana Ospina

The project is aimed at clients with a taste for modernity, design, straight lines, glass, steel and chrome — a cubist style. The roofs allow solar panels to be installed for energy efficiency. The houses are delivered as grey shells, so that each client can choose their own finishes — flooring, colours, every necessary detail. Of the 36 houses in total, 24 already had owners by the time the door project was completed, and the complex is functional for living.

„We tried to deliver a project of very good quality while keeping our clients' investments within the market price range. Our Romanian partners are very capable of delivering the quality we need — design, construction work, finishes. We meet each supplier in person, get to know them, build a good relationship and then start the project with everyone on the same page.” — Ana Ospina

Other Ospinas & Co projects in Bucharest

Occidentului 40

A residential project developed in collaboration with the architects ADN Architecture. All the apartments were sold within the first 3 months — thanks to the design and the quality of the development: large windows, natural light, a mix of modern materials and an urban Mediterranean look reminiscent of Mondrian's geometry.

Regina Elisabeta 28

A historic building dating from around 1884, located next to Bucharest Cinema. Acquired by Ospinas in 2012 and fully renovated by 2017, it currently operates as a rental property for offices and commercial spaces.

The business model

The same model works for Ospinas in Madrid too — buying properties at good prices thanks to their condition, renovating them fully, then selling or letting them after solid investment. The company finances all its projects from its own capital — no investors, lenders or banks — so management stays 100% in the company's control. Ana's father runs the international operations; Ana runs the Bucharest offices.