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Architects: Gabriel Montañés Arquitecto
- Area: 1615 ft²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:José Hevia
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Manufacturers: GRAPHISOFT, Bosch, Entrevigado estar, FERRVM, Fusteria Ruiz SL, GLOBAL Menorca SL, Liebherr, Piscinas Isla, Sklum, Tarima exterior, Tot Inox, Vizio cucina
Text description provided by the architects. L+C house is located in a street connecting the waterfront of Mahón Harbour with the center of town. Set in a line and each with a ground floor and a large plot, these fishing cottages date back to the first half of the last century. They were simple and humble abodes, with a vegetable garden in the back for the owners’ personal use.
We were hooked on the project right from the start, as the owners were a young, creative couple who were totally open to new ideas for a plot with lots of potential with regard to regulations and overall building surface. This combination led us to come up with some unusual ideas, starting with a ground floor and a first floor, followed by a ground floor and a garage. In the end, we agreed to focus all our efforts on achieving one good layout on just one level and getting rid of the parking area.
We then proceeded to build this ground floor while maintaining the aspect of the original façade, and with more focus on the longitudinal section. We took advantage of the building regulations allowing us an elevated ceiling height to ensure the quality of space and also implemented the clear objective of introducing sunlight and ventilation in all the rooms.
This change of direction changed everything: we gained privacy in the important areas of the house and really enhanced the property. We no longer had to locate the bedroom facing the street, moving it into the center of the ground floor instead, with the secondary rooms by the front façade creating a “cushion” effect to block off both noise and passers‐by looking in. The result is that to access the kitchen and living/dining area, you walk through a long passage with incorporated storage space that gradually draws you into the next section: a series of spaces of different heights, with different shapes lighting them up in various ways.
This effect became as important to our clients as it was to us. We exaggerated it a bit more by leaving the main façade both plain and as it had formerly been, acting as nothing more than as formwork panels that reveal nothing of the new interior. The gaps are still in the same place, as is the horrendous cabling... it’s all just the same. The only thing we did was add color to the wall to distract anyone walking past.
A generous courtyard, a small pool, and the existing vegetable garden on the north side complete the property. We achieved a house that is based on the length of the ground floor, specially customized for this young and creative couple with their open minds and host of ideas to combine as a permanent teleworking base and home to live in and enjoy.
