A window to the Mediterranean. Frame House by Nomo Studio
01/03/2019.
[Minorca] Spain
metalocus, ADRIÁN MARTÍNEZ
metalocus, ADRIÁN MARTÍNEZ
Nomo Studio has been commissioned to design the Frame House, a house that frames the perfect views of the sea thanks to its location on the coast of Menorca. A project designed to function as a holiday home.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Frame House by Nomo studio. Photograph by Adrià Goula.
Ground floor plan. Frame House by Nomo studio.
First floor plan. Frame House by Nomo studio.
Ground floor furniture plan. Frame House by Nomo studio.
First floor furniture plan. Frame House by Nomo studio.
Elevation. Frame House by Nomo studio.
Elevation. Frame House by Nomo studio.
Elevation. Frame House by Nomo studio.
The project designed by Nomo Studio is located on the coast of Menorca, so it has views of the sea and a pronounced inclination that limited the design. In order not to block the views, the traditional distribution was inverted, it was placed at the top of the plot and the entrance was planned on the first floor. The master bedroom was located on the first floor to function as a summer or weekend house.
A great contrast is created between the open facade that faces the sea and the opaque side facades. The roof is tilted, giving greater visibility to the glazed main facade. A whole prefabricated element was removed from the ceiling, creating a large frameless skylight that brings light to the back without windows.
From the kitchen and the living room there are large sliding windows that can open up to 43 square meters of covered terrace where meetings are usually held. Public and private rooms and terraces are projected for the little ones. This gives a mixture of private and common areas only for the little ones.
In situ concrete was chosen for the facade as a zero maintenance material that would age wonderfully in Menorca's aggressive climate of high humidity and extreme salt levels.
A great contrast is created between the open facade that faces the sea and the opaque side facades. The roof is tilted, giving greater visibility to the glazed main facade. A whole prefabricated element was removed from the ceiling, creating a large frameless skylight that brings light to the back without windows.
From the kitchen and the living room there are large sliding windows that can open up to 43 square meters of covered terrace where meetings are usually held. Public and private rooms and terraces are projected for the little ones. This gives a mixture of private and common areas only for the little ones.
In situ concrete was chosen for the facade as a zero maintenance material that would age wonderfully in Menorca's aggressive climate of high humidity and extreme salt levels.
Description of project by Nomo Studio
The plot is located on the northeast coast of Minorca, Spain, inside the urbanization of Coves Noves with a magnificent view over the sea. The steep inclination of the plot together with the site regulations made the positioning of the house very limited. In order to avoid the house in front blocking the views, the house was pushed back to the highest point of the plot and the main entrance was located on the first floor. To further guarantee this clear view, the traditional program was flipped so that the dayarea is located on the first floor and the bedrooms on the groundfloor. Only the master bedroom can be found on the top floor, responding to the clients request to have a summer house easy to open and close for short weekend stays where maybe only the couple lives there. In this way, the house can be understood as a single level loft with an extension for their children and guests bellow.
The strong contrast between the openness of the sea-view facade and the opacity of the side and back facades create a strong framing effect. To further enhance this gesture the roof is inclined opening up towards the view and the whole front facade is glazed from floor to ceiling with large sliding windows. Using prefabricated hollow core slab for the roof, usually found only in industrial buildings, allowed us to create a 11m large span to cover a column free terrace with completely undisturbed views. One whole prefabricated element was removed from the roof creating a large frameless skylight that brings light to the windowless back.
From the kitchen and livingroom there are large sliding windows that can open up to a 43 sqm large covered terrace where gatherings often take place. The master bedroom has a private balcony with no visual connection to the common terrace. The client wanted a house that could give privacy for their children, thus the children’s bedrooms all have their individual private bathrooms and terraces plus an extra livingroom only for them. This gives a mix of private and common areas only for the youngest
In situ concrete was chosen for the facade as a zero maintenance material that would age beautifully in Minorca’s aggressive climate of high humidity and extreme salt levels. The house’s off-white facade blends in with the ochre and terracotta coloured soil that surrounds the house. Finally, a band of vertical striped relief goes around the façade organizing all windows and doors.
More information
Architects
Design team
Partner in Charge.- Alicia Casals. Project Leader.- Alicia Casals. Team.- Karl Johan Nyqvist, Jordi Ribas, Mira Botsewa, Jennifer Mendez.
Collaborators
Structure e2A, Juan Mora SA and Gaimo, Francesc Sbert.
Area
300m²
Location
Minorca, Spain
Project
Single-family house
Photography
Alicia Casals, Karl Nyqvist. Nomo Studio
Nomo studio. based in Barcelona and Stockholm, the study was founded by Alicia Casals and Karl Johan Nyqvist. Both got professional experience in well-known architecture studios such as OMA (Rotterdam), BIG (Copenhagen), Shigeru Ban (Tokyo), Kengo Kuma (Tokyo), MVRDV (Rotterdam), UnStudio (Amsterdam), BüroOS (Beijing), give the company a solid base of knowledge in large scale projects.
They are currently involved in a wide range of projects all over Europe including private villas, housing complex, pavilions, museums, schools, art/culture centres and landscape and masterplans. Furthermore theri holistic approach has lead them to the design of stands, faucets, books and interventions in marginalised suburbs.
They work closely with their clients in all phases offering a complete project management service supported by BIM technology. They believe in design as a powerful tool for creating extraordinary spatial qualities. Their interests lie on cutting-edge design, experimentation with materials, details and structural solutions. The strong curiosity they feel for diverse social and cultural environments leads them to always seek a specific approach to each project. They do not resign theirselves to anything less than creativity, uniqueness and strong concepts in their work.
They are currently involved in a wide range of projects all over Europe including private villas, housing complex, pavilions, museums, schools, art/culture centres and landscape and masterplans. Furthermore theri holistic approach has lead them to the design of stands, faucets, books and interventions in marginalised suburbs.
They work closely with their clients in all phases offering a complete project management service supported by BIM technology. They believe in design as a powerful tool for creating extraordinary spatial qualities. Their interests lie on cutting-edge design, experimentation with materials, details and structural solutions. The strong curiosity they feel for diverse social and cultural environments leads them to always seek a specific approach to each project. They do not resign theirselves to anything less than creativity, uniqueness and strong concepts in their work.
