A magical Formentera house is designed for easy living and summer dreaming
Ses Clotades, a new Formentera house by architect Marià Castelló, takes its cues from its natural setting and becomes a curated composition – inside and out
This Formentera house takes its name from its dreamy location – Ses Clotades, a piece of land that connects La Mola peninsula with the rest of the Spanish island. Rolling hills with low Mediterranean vegetation and small sand dunes form the landscape on a site that sits between a pine forest and agricultural land. It was these formations that the home's architect, the locally based Marià Castelló, drew on when designing the project – which references its context's 'addition and subtraction, ascent and descent, solidity and permeability, light and shadow'.
Step inside this new Formentera house
As a result, the residence was designed as a cluster of volumes, dotted with terraces and outdoor circulation areas. The tallest elements are surrounded by existing, mature trees that allow their crisp white forms to remain discreet within the landscape. The largest of the volumes feels more porous and permeable. The smallest feels opaque in comparison.
This fragmentation of the residential plan into sections also allows the home to adapt to different numbers of inhabitants. When more visitors are hosted here, the entire complex comes alive. When a smaller number stays at Ses Clotades, only the largest volume is occupied, as it is designed to function as an independent unit - becoming a much smaller Formentera house in its own right.
A connecting, multifunctional element between these two acts as both the entrance hall and a flexible space for inhabitation. Voids and courtyards offer different iterations of outdoor living. Their presence also ensures plenty of natural light travels to the lower ground level below, where a library and screening room, a gym and the service areas are located. A large-capacity cistern that harvests rainwater is also accommodated on this level, allowing the home to go off-grid with its water supply.
Indeed the volumetric arrangement and careful planning of openings and shading work hard at ensuring the home can be environmentally responsible too. Air circulation, temperature control and natural ventilation and cooling through open air patios and water features are some of this Formentera house's sustainable architecture features.
Meanwhile, the interiors tell a story through objects and artworks composed by artist Elena Vinyàrskaya, who acted as the curator of the home. The architect explains: 'Through a meticulous selection of her own artworks, signature furniture pieces, and storied objects, the interior ceases to be a mere container, becoming a tableau of textures and meanings. The chosen textiles, ceramics, and styling elements seek a balance between the formal purity of the house and the warmth required for habitation, ensuring that every corner narrates a unique story of well-being and refuge.'
