Zenaida Elena Florea

PhD researcher in Doctoral School of Architecture, IOSUD – UAUIM, The Organizing Institution for Doctoral University Studies within the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urban Planning, Bucharest, Romania.

Zenaida Florea is a Bucharest-based architect at atelier VRAC and a PhD researcher at the Doctoral School of Architecture, IOSUD-UAUIM. Her work focuses on the intersection of practice, research, and architectural education, with a particular interest in the existing conditions of the city, understood through the lens of minor space.

The Veracity of Print

Keywords: urban, dwelling, minor, evolution, newspaper

Abstract: The paper aims to explore the truth regarding the veracity of Mica Publicitate [Classified Advertisements] in the Universul newspaper from 1885 to 1950, focusing on the key years of Bucharest’s housing market as an alternative resource for studying transformations in minor spaces within dwellings. While often seen as peripheral in architectural historiography, these classifieds offer valuable insights into the dynamics of locative spaces, illustrating societal changes despite their broader association with the mass media apparatus. Minor space is a term derived from a broader personal research project, referring to spaces within urban dwellings that are intrinsically representative for marginalised society, which are typically inhabited or used by a defined group of people, such as domestic staff or women within families. The organisation of space and domestic life as an architectural project leads to the separation of functions and a clear spatial hierarchy. As new roles and rituals emerge, which in turn drives the proliferation of minor spaces. Historically, the concept of minor spaces can be traced to architectural treatises by Alberti and Palladio, who employed contrasting terms to delineate different building sections intended for specific users. The poché, understood as a technique of reading plans, evolved from closed to open poché, gradually incorporating secondary, subordinate spaces. Louis Kahn later articulated the distinction between served and servant spaces, with the latter often ingeniously integrated into structural elements like hollow columns. While related concepts such as service spaces and utility blocks partially intersect with minor spaces, they predominantly emphasize functional separation rather than an intimate connection with their occupants. This study aims to conduct a quantitative analysis and to reflect on the terminology used, to highlight subtle transformations in minor spaces as an alternative historical perspective considering an immediate yet fragmentary truth, heavily influenced by the economic marketability of housing units.