Jaime and Isabelle House

These are the main premises of the project. A simple geometry and a compact volume are the result of a house that tries to go unnoticed, that takes advantage of the unevenness of the plot and is embedded in the terrain in order to allow views from the street. In order to blend in with the landscape, a green roof is proposed, planted with native grasses and shrubs. With the same intention, the perimeter walls of the house will be made of cyclopean concrete, built with stone extracted from the land itself.

The house does not want to be an immaculate, gleaming volume, it does not want to be falsely young, it does not want to be passively contemplated. The house wants to have textures and wrinkles, it wants to be able to absorb the patina of time, it wants to be actively lived in, just as traditional constructions do. The courtyard house is part of the Mediterranean architectural tradition. The project simply continues this tradition and brings it into the present day.

The project is organised around a courtyard that is the heir to the ancient Roman impluviums, the brother of the cloisters of the possessions or the nineteenth-century courtyards in the centre of Palma. The courtyard is an element of climate control as well as a meeting and living space. The courtyard is part of our authentic tradition.