landforming

What does sustainability mean when designing a settlement on the island of Mallorca? Sustainability is not only about technical efficiency, but about creating infrastructures that endure and enable humans and non-humans to coexist. The project in Santa Eugènia begins with the ground: regulating soil, water, and vegetation to prepare the site for a lasting ecosystem. The settlement becomes a middle ground between village and landscape, where time and growth are key design elements.

How does the architecture translate the traces of dry stone walls and the layered topography into spatial form?  The site is a land of borders and thresholds, defined by centuries of stone walls that consolidate soil, collect water, and create shade. By extending these walls, the existing rhythm continues, forming terraces, paths, and courtyards. The walls regulate topography and circulation while, at the same time, generating parcels where dwellings attach like dates on a branch. Architecture is not imposed but woven into this network, allowing nature to remain the constant companion.

What social and ecological systems sustain the new settlement over time? Water, vegetation, and human activity form a circular network. Rainwater is captured, guided along the walls, and stored in communal basins. Parcels vary in size, creating spaces for families, temporary stays, gardens, and shared squares. Buildings remain low and horizontal, following the contours of the land, allowing light, shade, and vegetation to regulate comfort. In this way, the settlement grows into a permaculture system: each layer—soil, walls, trees, dwellings, and people—is interdependent and sustains the others.