Paying homage to Mediterranean construction. Ca n’Uli House by Vicenç Mulet

Description of project by Vicenç Mulet

The architect Vicenç Mulet has recently completed a residential project on his native island, Mallorca. Aware of the particularities of the place, Mulet has designed a house that pays homage to Mediterranean and Mallorcan construction.  Ca n'Uli is a house designed on a human scale, an intimate space, deliberately austere in appearance and, above all, easy to live in. From the outside, one can appreciate the simplicity of the lines and a precise solution to maintain privacy. Inside, the rooms are connected as a single space around a central courtyard. The green color of the doors, typical of the buildings in the area, enlivens the neutral tones of the house and spreads a sense of peaceful wellbeing.

The building is located in a former housing estate in the north of the island of Mallorca.

The client of this house, a businessman who already lived in the area, has a great architectural culture, so he has actively participated in the conception and construction of the house, respecting the decisions of the architect.

The design process began with two premises in mind: austerity and the management of the privacy of the space.

From the outside, only a wall with a large Mallorcan portassa (doorway) can be seen, which can remain open towards the street if desired and which provides the desired privacy. Inside, the walls act as a sundial, casting shadows that give the house a different appearance depending on the time of day.

In the execution and construction, in which the young architect Miquel Serra of Negreta Arquitectura signed the executive project, special attention has been paid to the design of constructive details that give the house very pure lines.

The architect Vicenç Mulet suggested the idea of designing a typical Mediterranean courtyard house, which would not only resolve the issue of privacy but would also allow the temperature of the interiors to be adjusted at all times of the year.

The house is designed based on a forceful geometry: a perfect square plot of 21m x 21m. The golden ratio is behind all the measurements that scale this 110 m2 house. It is a project designed on a human scale, which response to the desire to live in simplicity without the maintenance complications of a large house.

The courtyard, also square, distributes the rooms. During the summer, the large windows are hidden in the walls. The main room and the living room open onto the courtyard and the garden, blurring the boundaries between inside and outside. In this way, everything is part of the same continuous space.

The minimal metal frames are perfectly concealed in the walls. The beamed ceilings are made of white concrete and Viroc panels. Inside the courtyard are the basic elements: the pool framed in Zarci-type limestone with a small fountain (a nod to the architect Carlo Scarpa), the reed bed, and the mulberry tree. A table with a Lamp from the Twobo studio is placed under the shade of the vine.

In addition, opening the house to the central space and the side gardens favors the cross circulation of the winds, the Terral (from land to sea), and the Marinada (from sea to land), cooling the house in hot periods. The height of the living room ceiling has also been increased to 3.80m, thus generating an increase in space to better dissipate heat in summer.

The choice of materials has been made in search of harmony and the sober character demanded by the client. The choice of colors and textures give the house a personality of its own that exudes peace. The continuous paving has been made from leveling concrete, resulting in a very resistant and practical terrazzo.

The paving of the courtyard floor, which is perfectly leveled as it is a floating floor, is made of Zarci-type limestone, the same stone that covers the walls and goes into the pool.

The green color of the large sliding shutters stands out in this austere-looking ensemble. This is a typical shade for local Mallorcan homes, and this choice has been treated as just another architectural element.

In the kitchen, this tone has also been used for the furniture, in harmony with the chromatic play of greens in the WOW signature tiles on the worktop and a cement grey tone for the floor. The glass bottles and the oil cruet are by Gordiola, and the mechanisms by Jung.

In the living room, tables and chairs by Vitra. Above, a classic Frisbi lamp, designed by Achille Castiglioni. In this space, some red elements have been integrated to contrast with the rest of the tones, such as the chaise longue next to the fireplace. Above the green console, is a Ginger lamp by Marset, and next to the sofa, a Tripod lamp by Santa & Cole. In the master bedroom, two Tolomeo lamps by Artemide are on either side of the bed.

Outside the house, the color green continues to reign supreme, with a landscaping project by Pere Bennàssar. For the garden, native plants with bushes were selected to build plant walls. In the front part of the garden, there are long, thin-leaved plants that sway in the wind.  The garden is complemented by a sculpture designed by the architect Vicenç Mulet himself and made of curved red sheeting inspired by the movement of Posidonia seagrass meadows.

Mulet has designed the house in a personal style influenced by some of his favorite references: Mies Van Der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion, the architecture of Luis Barragán, the tradition of the Roman impluvium, the white cubes of Alberto Campo Baeza, and references to local architecture.