Located in the small municipality of Alaró on the Spanish island of
There is something a little bit magical about homes designed with thought for how they will age. It may be through the adoption of Brutalist practices and a reliance on material robustness or, as is the case with OD House, an intentional dedication to the locale’s artisanal techniques and natural materiality.
Surrounded by almond, carob and olive trees,
Inside, Jorge Bibiloni Studio concentrated the design language of the home on textures and form in lieu of colour. With the silvery green landscape framed by natural timber to activate the bark on the trees and the rust tones in the rocky terrain outside, the interior is a sculptural haven. Two floors of clean open space are punctuated with recovered wooden beams that span the ceilings’ width to counterbalance the soft volumes below.
Throughout OD House there is the feeling of the home being formed from the clay in the earth it sits on. In the bathrooms, live-edged benchtops of punched and honed stone feel elemental, refined by the brass tapware and smooth surface finish. The cohesive continuation of materials across walls, floors and stairs instils a cocoon-like ambience that soaks up natural light to create a natural canvas for shadow play. Small stones have been inset into the entry floor in a clever delineation of space and a further echo of place. This constant concession to the outdoors is tangible, yet the home never loses its profound sense of refuge.
Much of the stonework throughout OD House is crafted from Binissalem, a stone typical of the island and often referred to as Majorca’s marble. In keeping with the other natural materials, the warm, veined stone carries the home’s traditional Mediterranean notes into contemporary relevance. Similarly, the clean lines, soaring volumes and sweeping use of concrete across the horizontal and vertical planes of OD House insert an artisanal narrative within the architecture and interior design. Bedrooms and an informal lounge are situated on the first floor, which has the same tempering of minimal architecture through the tactile presence of custom details.
Jorge Bibiloni Studio have acted as custodians of craftsmanship with their approach to OD House. Doors made of solid oak with black wrought-iron handles and wardrobes of oak latticework, a very common element on the island of Mallorca, demonstrate the timeless sensibility of age-old technique’s and materials.
Outside, the landscape is the hero. A simple cane and iron pergola protects from the sun on the threshold of the home while the rest of the immediate surroundings are, like the interior, minimal and saturated in the bleached, off-white hues of air-dried clay. It’s easy to imagine languid nights spent here after dusk as the memory of the sun radiates off the stone walls of the home.
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