kosmos architects turns mallorcan residence into a reuse study
On the steep hillside of Banyalbufar, overlooking the Mediterranean in Mallorca’s Serra de Tramuntana, KOSMOS Architects and Blanca Gardelegui transform a traditional village townhouse through repair, adaptation, and reuse into a family home. Dubbed Amor de la Isla, the project works with what the house already contains, as well as leftover construction materials found in local storage, turning the limitations of the remote site into the central design strategy of the project. The architects begin by looking closely at what is already there. Broken tiles, an old door, roof tiles, oil funnels, a discarded manhole cover, and even rebar caps are all reconsidered for their potential.
all images by Luis Díaz Díaz
working with what is already there
Banyalbufar is a village shaped by its difficult terrain. Houses climb the hillside between the mountains and sea, connected by narrow pedestrian routes and flights of stairs. Moving materials through this landscape is not straightforward, making conventional construction particularly demanding.
For Can Amor de la Isla, this problem becomes a reason to work differently. The team repairs existing elements wherever possible and gives materials that might normally be discarded another use. The approach is practical first, but it also gives the finished house a character that could not have been achieved through a conventional renovation.
KOSMOS Architects and Blanca Gardelegui repair the existing windows and facades, preserving traces of the previous life of the building. Inside, broken ceramic floor tiles are cut and recomposed into a large terrazzo surface. What was once a collection of damaged pieces becomes a continuous floor, with the irregularity of the fragments remaining visible. An existing timber door undergoes a similarly simple transformation. Cut in half, it becomes a folding door that better suits the compact interior. The reuse continues through the smaller details of the interior. Oil funnels are used as lamps, ceramic roof tiles become lampshades, and a discarded cast-iron manhole cover forms the base of the stove. Rebar caps are used as door handles.
In the kitchen, traditional Mediterranean chain curtains are used in place of solid doors to screen the appliances and storage. They keep the space visually open while adding a familiar local element to the interior. Paint is used as the main new material. The architects use color to reshape the existing rooms and establish different relationships between the spaces.
the renovated townhouse sits within the stone houses and terraces of Banyalbufar
a pulley becomes part of the facade
One of the few new additions is a pulley attached to the facade. It was installed to move construction materials and supplies up through the narrow, vertically arranged house, where carrying everything by hand is difficult. A spherical light sits above it, giving the simple mechanism a second function. At night, the light makes the pulley visible from the village and sea, turning a practical piece of equipment into a small marker on the facade.
Much of the renovation follows this same approach. The architects repair the existing windows and facades, reuse the original tiles, and adapt objects and materials that were already available. New elements are kept to a minimum, while the things that remain are altered to suit the needs of the house. Its original materials remain visible, alongside pieces that have been cut, repaired, repurposed, or given an entirely different function. The renovation allows the existing building to change without losing the traces of what it was. At Can Amor de la Isla, the remote setting makes reuse a practical necessity, but it also shapes the character of the finished house.
the townhouse entrance retains its stone walls, timber door, and green shutters
a small landing combines terracotta floor tiles, colorful doors, and reused timber elements