30 Nov Style and Sustainability in Menorca

Although a small island, thanks to its rich and varied history Menorca certainly outpunches its weight when it comes to impressive architecture. Located on a rocky hillside facing the north coast of the Spanish island of Menorca, Barcelona-based firm Nomo Studio has envisioned the breathtaking ‘Stone House’, which has been cleverly built with the same technique and material as the ancient limestone walls that enclose the island’s farmlands. From its generous 100-square-meter porch, residents can contemplate the most imposing cliffs of Menorca and enjoy its picturesque sunsets.

With a minimalist, textured appeal, a combination of smooth plaster and roughly hewn local stone adorns the villa’s facade. In this project style and sustainability collide, as the limestone was sourced entirely from the site, providing a low carbon, low cost, and low waste solution to the project’s building methods.

“The facade’s composition responds to a reinterpretation of the Minorcan custom of framing windows and edges with white plaster, thus creating a geometric patchwork of off-white plaster and light-tone stone,” the architects explain.

Similarly to the facade’s earthy palette, the interior is a combination of continuous sand-colored concrete pavement, whitewashed walls, pine wood carpentry, and white-veiled wooden beams. “These natural materials create both a warm but also airy atmosphere within the pastel range,” they continue. Championing circular materials and energy-efficient construction, the home is inspired by the robustness and compactness of the island’s ancestral architecture, however by using more modern and renewable construction systems, the house reaches a higher ranking in sustainable performance.