new single house, portopetro, majorca
The property, located in the coast line, is a narrow, but deep and long plot on the harbor side, which slopes northwards towards the harbor shore, with a relevant pronounced slope towards the Porto Petros harbor basin. The higher side of the street marks the south. Adjacent buildings flank the west and east.
The height difference between the road access and the harbor shore is an impressive nine meters, a gradient of over 17%.
The genius loci lies precisely in this height difference, which was the starting point for the architectural concept. The volume of the spatial program to be realized could neither be aligned far, parallel to the bank line, nor organized as a mono volume and thus digging into the slope had to be accepted. Such digging into the slope had to be avoided.
The new construction of this single-family residence was therefore ideally designed as two independent building volumes. The room program was divided. The two volumes were positioned one behind the other as building cubes, offset to the side and staggered according to the height of the slope. The front cube of the building, facing the shore, contains the complete spatial program of a single-family house.
It combines main uses such as living, dining, cooking and three sleeping areas with en suite bathrooms, while the cube behind it, which faces the street, contains other desired complementary uses such as guest, work and technical areas, as well as a garage.
The advantage of this design was that this two-part structure not only corresponded to the building regulations, but also made it possible to organize the floor plan of the cubes in two independent buildings and thus also the lighting, ventilation and room qualities compared to others To significantly improve housing construction and to structure it according to needs.
Four facades became six facades.
The two parts of the building are connected by a deconstructivist ramp bridge. The main vertical development is in the port-side building volume.
By shifting the building volume to the side and by creating large-area and yet private glass facades, the project experiences a breathtaking transparency and contributes to increasing the desired visual axes from both parts of the building to the harbor basin in front of the harbor and the promenade opposite.
More light, more view.
From the workplace on the hillside, for example, you have a clear view through the kitchen in the port volume to the shore in front of the property.
A patio with Mediterranean, autochthonous plants was designed between the two buildings, over which the bridge extends. A small oasis as an extended communication space that is connected to the entire garden design on both sides. It serves as a development and contact space for the whole family.
The diversification of the areas of use, the subdivision and division of the areas of use create a wide range of possibilities to meet individual needs. The interior and exterior areas intersect, terraced and fluently inclined to adapt to the slope.
If you look at the project from the harbor side, you will inevitably notice that the architecture is actually 3 volumes. In front of the two building cubes, the pool area extends as an independent, partially buried volume. Following the course of the slope, the infinity pool is positioned slightly below – in front of the harbor-side building – and protrudes from the slope as a water cube.
The infinity pool is designed as an overflow pool on all four sides and thus resembles a dematerialized cube of sea water volume, which was taken from the sea and placed on the slope.
The garden design focused on Mediterranean planting. Lawns, gravel areas and many fruit trees make the garden family-friendly and easy to care for.
A concrete skeleton construction method was chosen for the construction. Pillars made of steel and floor slabs in reticular with core insulation. The ramp bridge and all sliding elements are made of steel with wooden slats. Enclosure and garden walls are made of natural stone of local origin.
The buildings are partially air-conditioned with underfloor heating. The energy supplier is a heat pump with solar energy
project: 1418
size: –
plot: –
client: confidental
location: south east cost portopetro, majorca
type: single house
team (building): jle
team (landscape): jle
responsable architects: jle
