saje sigue estando constituido por bancales y muros de piedra seca. We were asked to undertake the enlargement and reform of a 5-star rural hotel occupying an old 18thcentury monastery located in Pollensa, on the island of Mallorca. The clients wished to refurbish and enlarge the spa situated in the main building and to build four new villas on the adjacent land. The goal of the intervention was to form part of the landscape. It does not seek to occupy the territory but rather to build territory, create a large garden, a landscape in which to stroll. To avoid competing with the historic architecture and in
order to make the most of the surroundings, we planned four villas that have blended into the stone walls of the terraces that make up the area’s farming landscape, creating a complex in which the construction and the green spaces have become symbiotic. The new villas are thus inserted into the last terrace at the foot of the mountain and enjoy the vistas over the vineyards. The upper level of the villas can be read as a garden that, extending from the main hotel building, reaches down to the farmland. On the lower level, each villa, opening onto the landscape and protected from prying eyes, enjoys its own private world. The project used the materials found in the surroundings.
We could say that the project is made from stone, earth and light, all of it enjoyed in privacy. The enlargement of the existing spa in the historic building involved adding rooms with views of the landscape. Our greatest concern was that the solid-looking 18th-century building would not rest on a glazed base; large wooden pergolas and vegetation blur the shine of the glazing and put it in the background. From the road the view of the old building remains the same despite the enlargement of the spa and the construction of the four villas. The great building continues to rest on its stone walls, just as the landscape is still made up of farming terraces and drystone walls.
37
