An Architect’s Live Work Studio on Formentera

Here’s another classic villa from the studio of Marià Castelló Martínez, like their others we’ve covered, also on the island of Formentera.

In Es Pujol De Sera they realise their contemporary version of the spare architectural tradition of Formentera.

Set far from the sea in the inland region, one entire side of the compact and simple live/work space houses an architecture studio.

The program is work on one side, live on the other. Even the plan displays the austere geometry that is their signature.

The spacious studio provides an unhurried setting for devising thoughtful architecture.

The working side of the house is just as open and inviting as the basking and lazing side.

Very spare and dry detail makes even bedrooms not too private, should clients happen upon the live side of the live work space.

(Both this bed and the guest bed are Murphy beds that can be placed up against the central wall in the daytime.)

Novel, solid furniture pieces help to ground the straightforward and unceremonious building.

These furniture pieces were specially designed, using the same kiroko wood used to build the library and internal divisions.

Austere concrete floors connect with the traditional dry-stone wall and the land beyond in a mood of sobriety and harmony.

The villa is surrounded by the smell of rosemary, and is set in a region with wheat and barley fields.

The topography inland is flat and the inertia of these surroundings is reflected in the flat affect of the villa itself.

But, by not distracting, these spare surroundings help create the wandering and dreamy space that helps in assessing creative design work like modelling architectural ideas.

Iroko timber and glass are used down the length of this central divider/service unit that separates the working from the living area.

The central service division contains the nucleus of services, the plumbing installations, the bathroom, the kitchen, but also the storage: the Murphy beds, cupboards, and bookshelves.

How simply the two ends are stated.

A small setback around the edge in section creates the sensation that the building is floating over the site to transition between the manmade and the natural environment.