isla

Lover’s House
Refurbishment of a house that does not yet exist
Location: Santa María del Camí, Mallorca
Year: 2020
Architects: isla (Marta Colón de Carvajal, Juan Palencia)
Collaborator: Nelson Fidalgo
Team: Katerina Kulanova
Photos: Luis Díaz Díaz
Status: Completed


Front view of the house


They propose us a new project to jump into: To turn a skeleton under construction into a house to sell, with the premise that it stands out within the local real estate market, offering a place to enjoy the island and its climate as a retreat. The house is inserted in a rustic land in Santa Maria, in the Pla de Mallorca, the flat area in the center of the island, surrounded by vineyards and protected by a pine forest that the client has been planting for years, with sun all day and panoramic views of the Tramuntana. The layout of the plant refers to Jose Antonio Coderch; the house program is developed on several axes that are articulated along a series of walls arranged in a north-south direction.


Entrance ramp


The porch


The access is made through the pine forest from the ‘camí’ until we reach the house, that appears totally closed, recreating the local Arab influences. A curved ramp leads to the entrance through a wild garden parallel to one of the walls. Once on the porch, a large floor-to-ceiling pivoting door opens inviting us to enter.


Main door




The hall opened to the long patio

The foyer, which stretches to both sides of the longitudinal courtyard - a forest of bamboo trapped between two long walls - gives us access to the bedrooms. The guest room occupies the first volume of the house and has its own patio.


Flashed doors allow a better understanding of the volumes.





Shutter up

Shutter down



South window

The chimney

The kitchen is to the North, independent but visually connected to the living room, and has its own patio open to the twin mountains of Alaró. And finally the living room, which is situated in the widest bay of the house, opens up to the panoramic views over the mountain and the garden.


The kitchen open to West


A specific materiality is proposed to integrate the house and almost camouflage it with the local landscape. On the outside, the walls are plastered with a rough rust coloured mortar making the house blend in with the land.

Inside, the palette is reduced to tinted concrete of the same reddish color, white, copper and natural wood, giving the house a warm and natural atmosphere. The floor, locally manufactured by Huguet and custom designed for the project, goes in and out diluting the limit of the house, while a series of elements also made of red tinted concrete -washbasins, showers, fireplace and benches- equip the different spaces. This limited palette of materials reveals the simple geometry of the building and creates a visual and tactile continuity between the architecture and its surroundings. Monochrome and vibrant, the house changes hues during the day, reacting to the sun and land, revealing movement through shadows and changing material nuances.



Monochromatic bathrooms

Custom made Huguet elements and copper elements


The pool is detached from the house so it gets its own space, and slides as another volume of the house that emerges from the ground, allowing to swim from the Tramuntana to the Puig de Ses Coves.


The pool





General plan