Embracing the Past in an Unconventional Way

Architects Emma Martí and Anna Truyol had a common vision for the Artchimboldi Menorca project located in the City of Sant Lluís, Spain. The booth agreed, designing this residence as a renovation project that can restore and improve the original character of the old building.

The entrance of Artchimboldi Menorca retains the original shape of its old building.

It's just that the preservation of history in the Artchimboldi Menorca project is not done in a conventional way. Instead, Emma and Anna took a design approach that lacked intervention but had a big impact. Such as the demolition of the partition walls on the ground floor and the first floor of the house, which results in a large and bright open space. With an open-plan concept, these spaces will help important elements of the existing building in expressing their character.

The ground floor of the house has an open-plan concept with a dining room and an interconnected kitchen.

The living room is equipped with comfortable seats and has direct access to the back porch.

It is proven by the increasingly strong existence of marés (local limestone) walls throughout the interior of the house. The wall is allowed to appear as it is even though it is full of imperfections. The holes used by the previous building function were deliberately not closed to maintain the natural texture of the walls. Then, in order to make the appearance more harmonious, the entire surface of the wall was painted pure white.

With the expression of the fresher walls, the interior of the ground floor of Artchimboldi Menorca also plays a role in maintaining the original character of the building. The polished concrete floor is sufficiently matched with the ceiling made of Fink wooden beams at a height of six meters.

Slate measuring 4x4 meters adds an accent to one of the walls of the house.

The ground floor accommodates a living room, dining room, and kitchen with direct access to the outside terrace. All rooms are connected without bulkheads and equipped with specially designed wooden furniture. One of them is a long wooden table that can be used for eating, meetings, and work areas. In addition, there is also a slate measuring 4x4 meters which is a distinguishing accent from one side of the wall.

The back porch of the house and its tiny water pool.

Continue to the first floor which is more private as it accommodates several beds. To the naked eye, the interior design of this first floor clearly shows a significant difference from the previous floor. Initially, the bedrooms on this floor were to be arranged with their own bathroom and toilet, but, according to Emma and Anna, such a design actually showed the conventional side of a house. Therefore, eight sleeping cubes made of Flanders pine wood were made for the upper level of Artchimboldi Menorca. The cubes not only provide a bed inside but also at the top that can be accessed through the climbing ladder, and the bottom can be a storage for goods.

The first floor is designed as a resting area with eight sleeping cubes.

The interior of the first floor is filled with touches of wood, including its long bookshelves.

To ensure comfort on the first floor, the roof structure of Artchimboldi Menorca also underwent a major repair. The overhaul makes this part of the roof more waterproof, can respond to thermal conditions, and makes it easier for sunlight to enter. Thus, the project successfully fulfilled its objectives, restoration, and improvement of the original character of the building with sufficient and appropriate interventions.

Ground floor plan.

First-floor plan.

Longitudinal Sections.