Casa La Cleta

Five-bedroom house in the Spanish Baleares. The material expression of the house and its form derives from the site and the client’s brief. The use of local, reused stones provides the primary construction material and dominates the external and internal appearance. The orientation of the house is critical in terms of its response to the views, climate and the client’s lifestyle. The location of windows, siting of the house and its construction materials all contribute to its response to the continental climate with temperature ranges of -5 to +45. The views and its relationship with the landscape is also a critical design factor – where the vertical cladding and lines of the soffit of the roof reflect the adjacency of pine trees to the west of the site. The wooded surroundings are also referenced by placing randomly spaced battens laid onto the concrete formwork panels to create a treelike pattern onto the white concrete surface. 

Architectural inspiration was taken from my walks in the Pyrenees and the Spanish Baleares, particularly in Ibiza where the traditional, ‘finca’, houses and landscape are ingrained and connected. This close relationship is pertinent on several levels, but particularly in relation with current issues of sustainability and to create a sense of well-being for the user. However, our choice of materials and architectural expression is very different to the traditional ‘white finca’ style in the Spanish Baleares or the modernist ‘white villa’ version which has become the default design model. We have eschewed considerations of style in favour of an approach whereby the material choices depend on their availability and suitability on both an environmental and architectonic level.