38 DIGS.NET
| 9.3.2021
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P R O F I L E | O OA A
by the neighborhood views. This is why we projected a big beam
that allows light in the inside, impeding the neighborhood views
and bringing in privacy." The result, he adds, is "a very blind façade
to the street" that nonetheless coaxes in "natural light through the
patios that the beam generates." A sequence of walls and patios,
meanwhile, dampens the interior of the house, eliminating the
interior-exterior frontier. "In the interior," Ochotorena adds, "the
house opens and closes itself to the sea views, generating strong
light contrasts, with spaces connected by blind transitions that
remind us of the old Mediterranean architecture. Monochromatic
finishings and great walls make the whole building."
The whole building, yes, but that is not the whole story. Baleares
house begins with the client: a family composed of older parents,
three daughters and many grandchildren. The structure, there-
fore, was designed as a place for the family to gather on holiday.
Certainly they can all stretch out comfortably. This is a house of
both robust substance and scale, with the hall entrance, gener-
ously dimensioned kitchen, open living room with one porch at
each side, three en-suite bedrooms, and two large bedrooms with
bunk beds for the children, all on the ground floor. A large master
bedroom shares this level. Given the potential for a full house,
Ochotorena made space for an annex with two bedrooms for staff.
With little flourish, the light-filled Baleares house is one of purity
and form, with a soft neutral palette amplifying the clarity of the
architecture. Baleares is beautifully balanced, too, with a number
of intriguing frictions: it is spare but not stark; minimal yet warm;
