26-12-2019
Casa E in Minorca by Gabriel Montañés Arquitecto
Gabriel Montañés Arquitecto,
Binidalí, Sant Lluís, Minorca,
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- Casa E in Minorca by Gabriel Montañés Arquitecto

This forms the backdrop to Casa E, a house designed by the Gabriel Montañés who mainly works on the island of Minorca, where his studio is based. In the words of the designer: “We combine a sense of knowing that we have to change the landscape while always wanting to leave a minimum trace of it. That’s why we select projects that we believe can maintain the beauty of this amazing island.” Casa E meets the criteria and came about after the firm won the contract in a tender.
The architects based their proposal around the shape of the site - long and narrow. And the end result is a project with rather radical dimensions: 42m long x 3m high. The house actually contains two units on the same level, separated by a patio whose main function is to act as a breezeway, using nature to improve the comfort of the homes. Adapting to the plot measurements, the long, straight façade allowed the architects to distribute the whole main layout to the south, leaving the north side for bathrooms and with minimum openings. Even with large windows overlooking the sea, the privacy of the occupants and the interior lighting and engagement with the outdoors can be managed by the sliding wooden shutters that are a characteristic of the home’s overall appearance.
The floor plan allows for a flexible distribution inside the building. To minimise the visual impact of the home in the surrounding environment, the floor level has been lowered, and a slanted concrete roof slab with a changing section on the north-south axis was created. The swimming pool has been sunk at an even lower level, acting as the connection between the house and the garden, which, in turn, will gradually turn into a Mediterranean landscape with no water consumption.
Speaking of water, all the rain that falls on the roof of the building is harvested, collected in a 40-tonne water tank located at the level of the large basement that occupies 50% of the building and which is accessed by a ramp at the back.
The facades on the ground floor feature the colour white, concrete, wooden lattices and glazing, while below the height of 0.0 m, the typically Mediterranean drywall texture is the protagonist.
Casa E by Gabriel Montañés Arquitecto is a streamlined, clean architecture that is also environmentally sensitive, where the design is not only an end in itself but responds to an attentive, thoughtful approach, matching the love that these architects have for the island of Minorca.
Christiane Bürklein
Project: Gabriel Montañés Arquitecto - https://www.gabrielmontanes.com/
Location: Binidalí, Sant Lluís, Minorca
Year: 2017
Costruttore: Obras Loga S.A.
Images: Adrià Goula