SON CAVIL·LA

This new traditional house has been built on a landing between the sea and the mountains in the east of Mallorca. This was a new challenge for Llorenç Brunet’s office as the precepts of the owners were to respect the traditional tone of the “casas de possessió”, considering that they had to give a high added value to the estate itself. And it is clear that with the current criteria the estate is simply spectacular as it is a clear area that dominates 180 degrees of sea on the south side, and another 180 degrees of the Levante mountain range in the north; and of course, it is well communicated. For the architect, the 4 pillars of the project were the following: Identification of the typological volume of a house of a certain size, with a clearly two-storey main body with a gable roof, and single-storey side annexes, never on the south façade. It is a “possessió” posture that seeks to exhibit the dominion of the surroundings, of the estate, of the landscape.

Then, mixing the concept of the pass-through type house, open on opposite, connected façades (a value that is traditionally very identifiable with the “more public” central strip and which is the historical legacy of the central passage to the rear atrium of Roman houses that “crossed” two bays) with the concept of the portal, of access to the enclosure, of limit… a proposal is drawn up that “empties” the volume into two parallel passages, transversally and in its full height (the two floors). The presence of these two large openings with their respective large doors is imposing and practical, as it allows the building to be totally opaque or transparent. In fact, without entering the property, one can see the sea through the building, without disturbing the occupants.

Moreover, as in traditional architecture, these central spaces are versatile (multiple uses) and open up perspectives to the side rooms. In fact here lies the spatial quality of the house: This double transparency of the volume generates a diversity of spaces inside the volume and the perspectives of the rooms are multiplied, so a compact and traditional volume has the capacity to surprise and generate various sensations to the occupants, both in a static sense (perspectives from a room) and in a dynamic sense (the enjoyment of walking in, through and around the building). And, of course, wood: The use of “gate” type joinery with stained Acoya wood boards (a kind of Australian pine with an acetylated treatment that exponentially improves the guarantees of durability of the wood in the open air) are a reference of the house, becoming essential elements of the proposal both for their elegance and for what they contribute to the versatility of the spaces (representation, variety of light tones, control, cross ventilation, transparency…).

In short, gates, stone, and hollow compact volume, which achieve splendid views over the sea and the mountains from the intimacy.