KOSMOS Architects and Blanca Gardelegui Rehabilitate Mallorcan Townhouse as Can Amor de la Isla
In Banyalbufar, Mallorca, KOSMOS Architects, alongside Blanca Gardelegui, has reimagined a traditional townhouse into a family residence called Can Amor de la Isla. The design approach embraces the site's constraints and utilizes available materials, honoring the building's heritage. Repairs were made to windows and facades, while shattered ceramic tiles were creatively reconstructed into a terrazzo floor. A timber door was ingeniously converted into a folding door. Unique reused elements include oil funnels serving as lamps and a cast-iron manhole cover functioning as a stove base. In the kitchen, Mediterranean chain curtains replace traditional doors. Rooms are transformed with paint, and a pulley system facilitates material movement through the narrow space, accentuated by a spherical light. Photographs by Luis Díaz Díaz.
Key facts
- KOSMOS Architects and Blanca Gardelegui transformed a traditional townhouse in Banyalbufar, Mallorca, into a family home named Can Amor de la Isla.
- The project is located on a steep hillside in the Serra de Tramuntana, overlooking the Mediterranean.
- The architects repaired existing windows and facades, preserving traces of the building's previous life.
- Broken ceramic floor tiles were cut and recomposed into a large terrazzo surface with visible irregular fragments.
- An existing timber door was cut in half to become a folding door for the compact interior.
- Reused objects include oil funnels as lamps, ceramic roof tiles as lampshades, a cast-iron manhole cover as a stove base, and rebar caps as door handles.
- A pulley attached to the facade moves construction materials and supplies up through the narrow house; a spherical light above it makes the pulley visible at night.
- Photographs of the project are by Luis Díaz Díaz.
Entities
Artists
- Blanca Gardelegui
- Luis Díaz Díaz
Institutions
- KOSMOS Architects
Locations
- Banyalbufar
- Serra de Tramuntana
- Mallorca
- Spain