Casa Fly: discovering Majorca and its traditions from above
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Casa Fly: discovering Majorca and its traditions from above

A home built with a technique recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

BEEF architekti

Casa Fly: discovering Majorca and its traditions from above
By Editorial Staff -

History, tradition, local materials, and an intimate connection with its location – Casa Fly in Palma de Mallorca, designed by BEEF architekti, encompasses all this, making it a special place for discovering the Spanish island.

 

Casa Fly: a special corner of Majorca

Casa Fly, BEEF architekti ©Tomeu Canyellas, courtesy of BEEF architekti

For anyone who’s not familiar with the culture and history of Majorca and the Mediterranean, there’s a special corner of the island that’s an ideal place to start exploring the area and its traditions. It’s Casa Fly, designed by Slovakian architectural firm BEEF architekti. Through the skilled use of local materials, and by creating close visual and physical connections with the surrounding landscape, the project is a tribute to the natural beauty and history of the Spanish island.

Built using ancient construction techniques, the interior and exterior of the structure feature the local stone, a material that very much contributes to the appearance of the entire island. One of these techniques is pedra en sec, a building method that UNESCO has recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The stone is not only used for its appearance but also for its insulation properties, helping to keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter. An important contributor to ventilation and lighting in the home is its full-height windows, which are set back from the line of the façade and are fitted with folding wooden shutters. Pushing the windows towards the interior of the structure, so to speak, creates shaded areas, similar to those created by the slats of the shutters. As well as providing passive protection against heat, the shutters allow natural ventilation even when closed.

 

Materials and harmony with the landscape

Casa Fly, BEEF architekti ©Tomeu Canyellas, courtesy of BEEF architekti

Local stone and wood also play specific roles in the interior design of Casa Fly. Used as slats for the central staircase partition wall, for example, wood forms the design fulcrum of the interiors. This partition in particular gives the home a vertical axis or kind of skeleton, which is also clearly visible from outside. As well as being repeated to the sides of some windows, this wooden texture forms a backdrop to the table in the room at ground level, creating a continuity with the outdoor space by the pool and then on, without interruption, to the upper floor.

At the top of the stairs is an abstract bronze sculpture, whose color balances with the wooden slats and stone walls. Its shape, on the other hand, brings to mind an angel, with its location inviting the viewer to look out at, and immerse themselves in, the surrounding landscape from the home’s different vantage points. And these are one of the peculiarities of the home, with each room offering its own special view, sometimes of the endless sea, sometimes of the city and its lights below. The infinity pool creates visual continuity with the blue of the sea and the horizon. Likewise, on the upper floor, the bedrooms and bathrooms create a continuity with the Majorcan lifestyle, signs of which can be glimpsed in the spaces between the ground and pine trees.

 

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Credits

Location: Mallorca, Spain
Architects: BEEF architekti
Completion: 2020
Built-up Area: 266,96 m2
Gross Floor Area: 402,37 m2

Design team: Helena Kučerová
Local architect: 3de3arquitectes
Project manager: About Living
Construction company: Grupo Ferrá
Carpentry work: Nadal mobiliari
Garden: Mallorca Eden Jardin

Photography by Tomeu Canyellas, courtesy of BEEF architekti

 

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