The Vrancea earthquake of 4 March 1977 gave Ceaușescu a pretext to demolish parts of old Bucharest . He wanted a civic center more in line with the country 's political stance , started a reconstruction plan of Bucharest based on socialist realism style . The House of the Republic ( later The People 's House after the 1989 Revolution ) was the center of this project . Named '' Project Bucharest '' , it was an ambitious project of Ceaușescu 's begun in 1978 as an intended replica of Pyongyang , the capital of North Korea . A systematization project existed since the 1930s ( during the time of King Carol II ) for the Unirii – Dealul Arsenalului area . Its construction was organized as a contest and won by Anca Petrescu ( 1949-2013 ) , who was appointed chief architect of the project when she was just age 28 . In total , the team that coordinated the work was made up of 10 assisting architects , which supervised a further lower 700 . Construction of the Palace began on June 25 , 1984 , and the inauguration of the work was attended by Ceaușescu and frequently inspected personally
Vrancea earthquake of 4 March 1977
1977 Vrancea earthquake
Palace of the Parliament