Dragos Dobrescu, founder of Monolit and the visionary behind the Vitalitas senior care campus

There are entrepreneurs who build businesses, and then there are entrepreneurs who build standards. Dragos Dobrescu, founder of Monolit and one of the discreet architects of Romania’s modern urban landscape, belongs firmly to the latter category. For more than three decades, his work has been defined by discipline, long-term thinking and an ability to anticipate structural needs rather than follow short-term trends.

Today, his focus has shifted toward a field rarely associated with prestige, yet increasingly central to the future of society: senior care. This transition was not driven by a market opportunity or a strategic pivot, but by a simple and unsettling observation: Romania has built its cities, but has largely failed to build dignified systems of care for the generation that built them. “There comes a moment when you understand that success isn’t about what you own, but about the legacy you leave behind,” Dragos Dobrescu explains.

That realization became the foundation of Vitalitas, a project conceived not for visibility or scale alone, but for long-term relevance and social impact.

A new model of care, built with dignity in mind

Located in Snagov, Vitalitas is a five-hectare residential campus designed to challenge the conventional image of senior care centers. The environment is open, calm and deliberately non-institutional, featuring landscaped gardens, a small lake and naturally lit buildings with no architectural barriers. There are no steps, no abrupt transitions and no narrow corridors. Every spatial decision is guided by a single principle: effortless and safe movement.

Yet architecture is only the visible layer. At its core, Vitalitas delivers an integrated care model that treats medical supervision, rehabilitation, psychological support and daily-living assistance as inseparable components of the same human need. Rather than isolating medical treatment from everyday life, the project brings them together in a cohesive and preventive framework.

Residents benefit from continuous medical oversight, regular evaluations and personalized care plans tailored to chronic conditions or post-surgical recovery. Rehabilitation is not treated as an optional service, but as a foundational pillar, supported by physiotherapy, balance training and mobility programs aimed at preserving autonomy for as long as possible. The philosophy is fundamentally preventive: anticipating decline rather than merely reacting to it.

The neurofeedback breakthrough

One of the most distinctive elements of Vitalitas is its emphasis on cognitive and emotional health. Under the supervision of clinician-psychologist Roxana Pănoiu, the center integrates neurofeedback therapy, a non-invasive method that trains the brain to self-regulate without medication. While widely adopted in certain Western healthcare systems, neurofeedback remains largely unexplored in Romanian senior care.

At Vitalitas, the results have been tangible. Residents have shown improvements in memory, sleep quality, emotional stability, anxiety reduction and post-stroke recovery. The therapy reinforces the broader philosophy of the campus: addressing not only physical vulnerability, but also mental and emotional well-being.

Daily life at Vitalitas follows a structured yet non-institutional rhythm. Assistance is provided where needed, but residents are encouraged to remain active, socially engaged and autonomous. The atmosphere is intentionally calm, free from urgency or clinical tension, despite the constant presence of medical support.

“I didn’t want people to feel fear when they walk in,” says Dragos Dobrescu. “I wanted them to feel calm. Calm comes from safety. Calm comes from order, from attention, from respect.”

A quiet but enduring legacy

Dragos Dobrescu’s move from real estate development to senior care reflects a deeper evolution in his understanding of leadership. The ambition remains, as does the discipline that defined his career. What has changed is the destination. Vitalitas is not a monument, nor a public relations exercise. It is a structural response to a long-ignored social reality.

Through Vitalitas, Dobrescu advances a clear message: Romania can offer its seniors more than basic assistance. It can offer dignity, stability and emotional security, delivered through thoughtful design, integrated healthcare and genuine respect for the individual.

Dragos Dobrescu once helped shape Bucharest’s skyline. With Vitalitas, he is shaping something quieter, but ultimately more enduring: the way Romania cares for the people who built it.

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