Inhabit and Enclosed Landscape.

Creator: Siddartha Rodrigo, Javier Gavin Balda y Juan Moreno Romero.

Location: Mallorca (España).

The historical inhabitants of the Balearic Archipielago knew, unlike the moderns, that landscape has no rear as they were forced to live on an enclosed habitat facing the results of their actions. While culturally connected through the Mediterranean, this material isolation made them develop their own material culture out of the island’s limited resources. The enclosed landscape gave shape to sustainable techniques that deeply align with our current search for circularity and can therefore be brought into the future.

Together with the Balearic Institute of Housing (IBAVI), we are developing a social housing scheme that updates sandstone and timber construction while taking advantage of its sustainable nature. The scheme is located on the outskirts of Santa Margalida, a small town on inland Mallorca, and comprises 10 dwellings and as many workshops on ground floor. The strategies behind this design tackle the two major emergencies faced by the region: climate emergency and housing emergency.

Concerning the climate emergency, strategies for the reduction and creation of energy will be implemented during construction and use of the building as explained later. To be able to achieve the high sustainability standards we are working at the junction of vernacular local knowledge and the contemporary building industry.

As an immediate result, the building will provide shelter for 10 local families to address the housing crisis in the islands. Nevertheless, the ultimate aim of this public prototype is to reactivate the local building industry, so these traditional methods are updated and standardized for broader use across the region. Therefore, the scheme affects different aspects of social sustainability: access to the housing market, update and conservation of local traditional industry and creation of economic opportunities in rural areas.