The Pineapple-Lemon Connection

The couple wanted a home for the near future, and for the distant one too. They wanted somewhere to get away from it all, and bought a plot in the market gardens of Murcia, surrounded by irrigated fields. On top of that, the plot had been a nursery for Washingtonia palms, which gave the place a character like no other. It felt like a corner of the tropics dropped into the middle of the huerta. We decided to pull up as few palms as possible, protect the ones we needed and keep as much as the land could give us.

The style the clients liked was clear. Something they called "tropical minimalism". They wanted bright, open white spaces mixing neutral materials, such as concrete and timber, with Balinese-style furniture. A building that, through its timber, would blend into its surroundings and let the place take centre stage.

The house was also built in timber, using a balloon-frame system, where timber frames make up the load-bearing walls. As a particular touch, we brought that structure out of its shell and put it on show outside. It works both structurally and as a screen against the western sun, like a canopy that, together with the overhangs and the palms, creates a covered walkway between the bedrooms and the pool area. That way the red pine shows on the façades, and the same finish carries on inside in the kitchen. A kitchen designed as a single block that only opens up when you use it.

The layout opens completely onto the inner courtyard, where the pool takes centre stage, reflecting the palms in its surface. The living room opens out on both sides, and by the kitchen we set the volume back to leave a breakfast spot for the gentlest spring and autumn mornings.

Being in the market gardens, the house came with its own conditions. It had to be raised because of the water table, the surrounding irrigation channels had to be respected, and it had to be energy-independent. When we applied for a mains electricity connection, it was refused for lack of capacity. We ran the numbers on the cost of a transformer and decided on solar panels with two batteries, with no need for an outside supply. They give enough power for the house, the pool, the home automation and charging the electric cars.