CAN PICAFORT

Published on: 5 years agoAuthor: Teo Sandigliano

TEd’A arquitectes is a Spanish architecture practice based in Mallorca. In 2017 they completed Can Picafort House, a beautiful tourist apartment, in which bricks and clay are the protagonists.

The intervention consists of the interior reform of an existing building. In an initial state, both the accesses and stairs, as well as the distributions were appearing chaotically untidy. All the effort of the project centers on opening the space in a longitudinal way, so that is possible to visually connect the sea and the back street. The strategy consists in arranging and condensing all the services against the party walls. Stairs, closets, kitchens, and bathrooms line up and accumulate against these walls: so the services appear as thick party walls.

The clay is used in a range of different pieces, to give a precise response to the different constructive needs. For example the “Termoarcilla”, placed on edge, shows its condition: it’s not a bearing wall, nor an acoustic one. It modulates, characterizes and dresses in a simpering manner, the main space.

The tile covers, sometimes the pavement, with a very wide joint, sometimes the walls, with a narrower joint. The glazed tile protects the water surfaces. In some points, the tile protects against the oxide coming from the iron rails. The residue of crushed “colombrins” can be used as clay gravel…

Talking about materials, TEd’A arquitectes team said: “Due to the accumulation of small and different pieces, as well as the slight changes in the tone of the clay, we think that the materialization reduces the scale and manages to define a more domestic and human space.”