Under the mediterranean sun

Stepping up the luxury home game

Words by Rachel Grech

Finding a superior space to rest your head is perhaps the most telling sign that you have made it to the big leagues. With the hot Maltese sun beating down on the islands and the cool breeze coming of the Mediterranean Sea, it is not difficult to envisage some superior properties in Malta. Alicia Medrano and Fernando Pedrosa, from Spanish architecture firm Lecoc, are excited to be working with the Maltese landscape to produce some of the island’s finest luxury homes.

Living conditions in Malta are one of the driving forces that brings such a large pool of high-end executives to the islands. The sun, sea and Mediterranean lifestyle are a pretty good reason to consider re-locating from the colder, darker climes of northern Europe, Russia or many parts of America. And with the larger incomes that come with the top positions in the industry, professionals are looking for the swanky properties to suit their post-Covid lifestyle. What puts a property into the luxury category and what should you be looking for if you could afford the price tag?

Lecoc, an international Spanish architecture studio working in Europe, Africa and America, are looking to start operating in Malta, and with their track record in building multi-million-dollar residential properties, museums and hospitals, it’s exciting to see what this firm is ready to offer the local luxury market.

It’s not the hefty price tag that makes a luxury property a home. While space in Malta comes at a premium, this is probably the largest deciding factor in the price of a property; large rooms, garden space and or stunning views are all part and parcel of that luxury deal, and with the sea never being too far away, a sea-view is perhaps the most coveted of Mediterranean features.

Lecoc certainly understands this, having recently completed an extraordinary 8,000-square metre property on the top of a mountain in the costal town of Jávea, close to Valencia, one of the prime property markets in Europe. The Mediterranean Sea functions as the axis of this phenomenal property, because, as a famous Valencian lawyer once said, “there is nothing that cannot be cured by looking at the sea.”

Taking advantage of the breath-taking views and the angles of the sun, the house is composed of two large cubes that blend into each other. The materials used are shown in their most natural

state, with stone being the most crucial element of the mansion, dominating both the interior and exterior.

The living space takes into account the Spanish luxury lifestyle. It consists of a number of pools - both indoor and outdoor - a sauna, gym, cinema and of course a wine cellar. There is also of course an area to cook and serve paella, for what is Spain without the joys of food and drink? Alicia Medrano, one of the founding architects of Lecoc, said about the project, "we wanted to create a microcosm within the cosmos, and give its inhabitants space where they can breathe the light, the breeze, the temporality and the colour of the Mediterranean”.

Although architecture is technical by nature - after all, the property needs to remain standing as it endures the erosive sands of time – what sets Lecoc apart from the rest is the sheer artistry of their projects, where art and engineering are blended together to meet in the middle with some stunning designs.

Aesthetics are simply not enough to create luxury properties worthy to be called home. Functionality has to be of primary focus. What good is it to live in a stunning house that you can’t call a home? In this respect, Lecoc have proven themselves to be one of Spain’s most prestigious young architecture firm, winning an IF Design Award – one of the most distinguished in the world of design – for the construction of the Cancer Hospital of Oran – one of the largest hospitals in the Arab world. The building is inspired by the traditional architectural wisdom of Algeria and Oran, re-interpreted in a contemporary manner. It aligns some of the essential elements of classic Mediterranean architecture with the latest medical technology, allowing Algerians and North Africans to seek treatment without having to travel to Europe. The entry was one of 10,000 from 58 countries, selected by a panel of 98 judges, all of whom are global experts in the sphere of design.

Founded in 2017, Lecoc was created by Alicia Medrano and Fernando Pedrosa, qualified architects from the Polytechnic University of Valencia. It is made of a multidisciplinary team of over 15 professionals. As an international firm, it has produced projects in Spain, Africa and Europe, and is currently exploring further projects in Russia and Central Asia, as well as Malta.

"Malta has one of the most vibrant architectural markets in the Mediterranean,” Fernando Pedrosa said. “We like to mix the idiosyncratic elements of European and Arab traditions in our projects, and few places have that melange more clearly defined than Malta. For us, it makes perfect sense to be here," he explained.