HISPALYT ARCHITECTURE AWARD 2023-2025 – VII ROOF TILE – NEW BUILD
The starting point is an elongated plot with a gentle slope. The proposal adapts to this terrain by being positioned on the elevated part with a longitudinal footprint. This minimises earthworks and allows the house to benefit from a large south-facing facade.
The house is organised into different rectangular volumes that shift relative to one another, creating courtyards and porches between them. This play of displacement also helps break up the linearity and length of the facade. These rectangular volumes are unified under a single, large monopitch roof, which provides uniformity to the project.
A ventilated pitched roof was constructed to better dissipate the heat caused by the strong vertical solar radiation in summer. This roof was executed by installing the Borja curved roof tile in a marbled white finish – BorjaBLANC, C-50.21 Celler format, over 30 × 50 mm pine wood battens with copper-based treatment (tanalised), arranged in two orthogonal directions. Specifically, the Marbled White tile was chosen for its excellent integration into the rustic Mallorcan landscape.
The roof takes on a leading role as a unifying element for the whole ensemble and as a mediator between architecture and landscape. The choice of the Borja curved roof tile in Marbled White – BorjaBLANC, C-50.21 Celler format, responds to both technical and cultural criteria. On one hand, its placement on a ventilated pitched roof improves the building’s thermal performance, favouring heat dissipation during the summer months and contributing to the global energy efficiency of the dwelling. On the other hand, its texture, geometry, and hue allow for a natural integration with the rural Mallorcan surroundings, evoking traditional roofs and reinforcing the reading of the house as a sober, timeless construction rooted in its place. The tile is not understood merely as a finish, but as an essential component of the construction system and the project’s passive strategy.
Architecture Studio: OAM – Oficina d’Arquitectura a Mallorca
Photographs: José Hevia and Neus Pasto
