2017 - Espai Mallorca

Architecture and Art

Although the beginnings of the studio are in Barcelona city, while we were studying at the school of architecture at the time, Nora's roots have a strong base in Mallorca. After many years in Muro, a town to which we are grateful for the multiple opportunities it has given us during our first years, we were presented with the possibility of designing a new space where we can continue developing our activity. A challenge that we take on with great enthusiasm, since we firmly believe that the workspace has to be inspiring both for its inhabitants and for the people who will visit us.

The project is very simple. It is about undressing an old warehouse for commercial use in which there was an old family hardware store, dividing it, to keep only the tallest volume and enhancing precisely this, the volume. The void.

In a first gesture of cleaning, we dismantled large shelves that invaded the space and blocked the sensation of space that we knew was hidden. Once it was emptied, it was also necessary to get rid of the pavements, which over the years had changed and different tiles had been superimposed reflecting the passage of time and passing fashions.

The second milestone was to overthrow the “batiport”. For those ignorant in the matter, this element is typical of island architecture and is any structure that enables a previous space inside, having exceeded the threshold of the façade, but still outside, creating a kind of portico to protect you from the inclement weather. The removal of this piece is temporary and before completion the work will return stronger than ever.

Thirdly, a new life is given to the walls of the warehouse. They are scratched and stripped down, recovering the character of walls with great power in terms of texture and are painted white since, as we mentioned, we are interested in continuing to build the void and these enclosures will be its container. Along with this, a new flooring is made using polished concrete. No finish or vitrification will be given since, once again, we do not want the air that we will encapsulate to take center stage, but we do want some lines to be drawn with the expansion joints that will form a 3 x 3 grid.

These 9 quadrants will be the different spaces that will absorb the different uses that we will ask of the space.

The two rows at the back will be freer and will include the work tables, samples, dining room and rest area, with the possibility of changing completely, since all the furniture is mobile. Modular furniture bases made of spruce and pine wood are used to create storage surfaces on which laminated wood panels rest to tie everything together. Underneath, each piece of furniture has its own wheels, a fact that allows the space to adapt when the space has to be used for activities with a greater influx of people.

The row closest to the street façade will house three special quadrants. The change in slope to drain towards the façade gives us the possibility of emphasizing the difference and we decided to build a large “batiport”. This allows the pavement of the sidewalk to enter the entire central quadrant, which brings the street closer to the studio and provides extra light inside. On top of this new “batiport” and unlike what is conventionally made, we decided to build a wooden box with two small guest rooms. With this gesture, the central quadrant takes up the entire height of the warehouse and divides the central row into three spaces with their own volume. On one side we built a piece of exposed concrete block furniture that will hide the bathrooms and kitchen while the other, with a more private character thanks to the curtains, will be used for meetings.

Last but not least, a skylight opens at the furthest point of the warehouse in its entire width, allowing the sun's rays to pamper the walls and illuminate it.

An empty space. A blank sheet to start new projects and embark on new adventures. A support on which to do workshops, collaborations, events, galleries or parties.

A full space. A place full of illusion, ideas and motivation. Furniture with wheels, giant plants and samples of hundreds of local materials.

A new home to work, create, cry and laugh.