Located by the seafront in Can Picafort, a holiday resort in Mallorca, Spain, this recent renovation by local practice TEd’A Arquitectes has transformed a nondescript residential building into tourist apartments that combine a minimal aesthetic with an artisanal sensibility and a penchant for ceramic handiwork.
The modest construction consists of two separate volumes, a two-storey building with a porch overlooking the seafront and a three-storey building facing a tree-lined street on the back with a narrow light-well in between. In order to maximize the views and provide open-plan living spaces, the interiors have been completely rearranged with the access stairs and all the amenities pushed to the two sides that adjoin the neighbouring buildings. The spaces that are thus created in between the thick party walls, which conceal the kitchens, bathrooms and closets, feature windows on both the front and the back-facing facades, allowing for more daylight as well as cross-ventilation.
A variety of ceramic tiles and bricks in their natural clay colouration has been used throughout the apartments and monopolize their colour palette with terracotta hues. Monochromatic, unglazed tiles cover the floors in lighter and darker muted tones whereas glossier glazed tiles playfully mark the concrete columns. On the walls, larger sized geometric patterned bricks provide subtle decoration in the otherwise unadorned rooms whereas narrower wall tiles arranged vertically differentiate the bathrooms and kitchens. The earthy palette of the clay elements is harmoniously complemented by the natural shades of the wooden doors, window frames and furniture while the grittiness of the exposed concrete posts and beams give the overall impression of an artisan's abode.
Similarly to the interiors, clay bricks and tiles have been selectively featured in a variety of arrangements on the balconies and terraces providing earthy accents and geometric highlights to the plain building exterior of whitewashed walls and exposed concrete. Coupled with the brick-up balcony doors and the steel rebar used to form canopies and balustrades, the entire building looks like the handiwork of some whimsical craftsman in awe of the Mediterranean sun.
from yatzer