{"id":225555,"date":"2024-05-13T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=225555"},"modified":"2024-05-23T10:43:59","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T14:43:59","slug":"recharge-in-the-son-blanc-inn-in-menorca","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/recharge-in-the-son-blanc-inn-in-menorca\/","title":{"rendered":"Recharge in a Restored Spanish Farmhouse in Menorca"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"a
Son Blanc Farmhouse Menorca, a boutique hotel that had been a dormant, late 1800\u2019s Spanish home and barn until a recent renovation by Atelier du Pont, includes a pine-beamed yoga studio with a site-specific mural by local artists Adriana Meuni\u00e9 and Jaume Roig, its natural materials echoing those used throughout the 9,500-square-foot property.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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May 13, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Robyn Alexander\/Bureaux<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Greg Cox\/Bureaux and Production by Sven Alberding\/Bureaux<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Recharge in a Restored Spanish Farmhouse in Menorca<\/h1>\n\n\n

In a few special parts of the world, vernacular architecture remains an influence on the unique atmosphere of a place. In turn, that traditional yet everyday building style is invariably a reflection of the topography of the area, its geology, and the location\u2019s natural and seasonal conditions. Menorca is one of these places. It\u2019s there that a late 1800\u2019s house and barn, recently renovated by Atelier du Pont<\/a> into the Son Blanc Farmhouse Menorca, a boutique hotel, epitomize the Spanish island\u2019s elemental stone architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Menorca, the local style of architecture is, as noted by Son Blanc owners Benedicta Linares Pearce and Beno\u00eet Pellegrini, particularly impacted by the island\u2019s indigenous limestone, known as mar\u00e9s<\/em>. Visible in the ancient structures left behind by the Talayotic culture to everyday farm buildings, the natural material varies in color between ochre and white. So, when the couple acquired the rural 300-acre property\u2014born in Menorca but living in London, Pearce had long wanted to reconnect with her origins, while Pellegrini, having visited the island often since meeting his wife 25 years ago, also felt its pull\u2014they knew that its renovation would require sensitivity in terms of preserving the use of mar\u00e9s<\/em>, and in bringing it into the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the Son Blanc Inn Designed by Atelier du Pont\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Restored
Restored limestone archways cover a terrace furnished with Radassi\u00e9\nseating in oak and straw, wooden tables by Lucas Castex, and a Heaps & Woods Cronos\nlamp woven of sustainably sourced rattan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"a
Combed plaster wainscotting anchors more\nlimestone in the living room, Space Copenhagen\u2019s Fly chair standing on its wool rug.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Looking around for the best team for the job, they met architects Anne-C\u00e9cile Comar and Philippe Croisier, founding partners of Atelier du Pont. While the studio is based in France, Comar has a Minorcan connection, as well: Her family has a home there. All four discovered \u201ca common fascination for nature, traditional architecture, and the powerful link that the Minorcans have for their island,\u201d she recalls. In fact, the former two notions synchronize with Atelier du Pont\u2019s approach to all its projects: aiming to create buildings and interiors that take inspiration from their contexts, in both geographical and cultural terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the start, the 11-key finca, or 5,000-square-foot main house, and the boyera, or 4,500-square-foot barn, which now contains a restaurant and a yoga studio plus three suites, were conceived to not only respect the traditions of their place but also tread lightly on the earth, to be \u201cself-sufficient in water, energy, and food production,\u201d the clients say. \u201cSon Blanc was born from a synergy between traditional know-how and collective creativity,\u201d Comar adds. She, Croisier, and their team began the renovation in 2018 with local firm ARU Arquitectura, engineers, master craftsmen, landscape designers, and agricultural experts (the property had once been a working farm, and the goal was to get it functioning as such again, to provide produce for the restaurant).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local Stone Nods to the Surrounding Scape<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"facade
The 300-acre property has been landscaped by Eugenia Corcoy and returned to a\nworking farm by Minorcan firm Agroassessor, including an edible garden by Sergi Caballero, which provides produce for the hotel\u2019s restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The result is a thoroughly Minorcan entity\u2014mar\u00e9s<\/em> is nearly everywhere, much of it sourced directly from or carved into what existed on the site, such as the void that created the new swimming pool and what surrounds it, as are archways, another nod to local architecture\u2014filtered through a gently contemporary yet thoroughly bioclimatic lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional passive processes\u2014stone and cork for insulation, whitewash finishes\u2014work in tandem with energy-conservation systems of today, including geothermal heat pumps and a solar array (all the property\u2019s electricity comes courtesy of the sun, as Menorca averages 300 days of it per year). Water, however, is less abundant on the island. So, much attention was paid to efficiently sourcing it for irrigating the farm and gardens. Nearly 160,000 gallons of rainwater are harvested from the roofs of the two buildings annually, then stored in a retention basin and two existing underground cisterns rehabilitated during the renovation. For domestic needs, water from an underground aquifer is purified on-site; any resulting gray water is treated and reused for irrigation. Respect for nature extends to the hotel\u2019s artwork, many pieces handmade from such materials as rattan, wood, and ceramic. The most dramatic of which may be in the yoga studio, where almost an entire wall is devoted to a mural of sorts in vegetable fibers and chamotte orbs. At the finca entry, a tapestry of fluffy white wool hangs to span the structure\u2019s two levels, while cotton is woven into a headboard in one of the guest rooms. Another room features a floor-to-ceiling screen of terracotta blocks separating it from its bathroom, where the sinks and tub are the same warm-hued clay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Hotel Design Melds Sustainability and Simplicity of Form<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\"a
Custom sconces flank the fireplace, which was carved from mar\u00e9s, the local\nlimestone, and faces a burnt-wood table by Vincent Vincent, Louise Liljencrantz\u2019s Margas chair, and a Palma sofa upholstered in wool boucl\u00e9.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"a
A new sculptural stair in concrete poured on-site connects the main and upper levels of the 11-room finca, or main building. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"ceramic
Tucked behind it is another work in ceramic by Meuni\u00e9 and Roig and a two-story-high, woven-wool piece by Perrine Rousseau.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Furniture pieces continue the effort. There is seating in oak and straw, a floor lamp of sustainably harvested rattan, and wool rugs and upholstery. Where there isn\u2019t mar\u00e9s<\/em>, there\u2019s textured-plaster wainscotting created on-site by local craftspeople using a metal comb\u2014the ideal accompaniment to the sculptural sconces by Atelier du Pont that appoint walls throughout. In the finca\u2019s breakfast kitchen, a slab of lava stone has been formed into a massive island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability clearly reigns supreme at Son Blanc, as does simplicity of form, quietly exquisite taste, and purity of materials. It\u2019s a pared-down luxury that facilitates long days of sun-drenched ease and reconnection with the natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walk Through the Son Blanc Inn, Complete With a Dreamy Yoga Studio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"a
Son Blanc Farmhouse Menorca, a boutique hotel that had been a dormant, late 1800\u2019s Spanish home and barn until a recent renovation by Atelier du Pont, includes a pine-beamed yoga studio with a site-specific mural by local artists Adriana Meuni\u00e9 and Jaume Roig, its natural materials echoing those used throughout the 9,500-square-foot property.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"a
Custom bedside pedestals\/lamps in a guest room frame Mariona Ca\u00f1adas and Pedro Mur\u00faa\u2019s wooden headboard wrapped with cotton sourced from the Guadalquivir Valley in Andalusia.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"A
A walnut Wilson chair by Eloi Schultz and Jose Carvalho ceramics on the upstairs landing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The breakfast kitchen\u2019s island formed from locally sourced marble.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The landing\u2019s built-in couch and Isole side tables.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The stair\u2019s mar\u00e9s treads and risers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Ceramic
Ceramic sconces by Roig.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Schultz\u2019s
Schultz\u2019s Mirador stools along the hotel\u2019s mar\u00e9s bar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Vegetable
Vegetable fibers and chamotte clay on the wall in the yoga studio.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Tub
Tub and sink in terra-cotta tile in a guest bathroom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A terra-cotta screen separates a guest room from its bathroom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A built-in banquette forms a nook in the restaurant in the boyera, or barn, joined by Hvidt & M\u00f8lgaard\u2019s Drawn chairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Also
Also terra-cotta, raw and porous on the outside, sealed inside, a guest bathroom\u2019s sinks are set within a custom pine vanity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The swimming pool\u2019s irregular shape was carved right into the island\u2019s limestone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
project team<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

ATELIER DU PONT<\/strong>: ARIANE AUDEBERT; CHARLOTTE MARTIN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARU ARQUITECTURA<\/strong>: ARCHITECT OF RECORD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EUGENIA CORCOY<\/strong>: LANDSCAPE DESIGN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CARPINTER\u00cdA GAVILA<\/strong>: WOODWORK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

product sources from front<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

MIDI:<\/strong> SEATING (TERRACE). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LUCAS CASTEX:<\/strong> TABLES. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HEAPS & WOODS:<\/strong> LAMP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c9LITIS:<\/strong> RUG (TERRACE), BUILT-IN SOFA FABRIC (LANDING). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FUGUET:<\/strong> CUSTOM FIREPLACE (LIVING ROOM). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

KARPETA:<\/strong> RUG. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

&TRADITION:<\/strong> CHAIRS (LIVING ROOM, RESTAURANT). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PIERRE FREY:<\/strong> SOFA (LIVING ROOM). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DEDAR<\/strong>: SOFA FABRIC, WHITE CHAIR FABRIC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

VINCENT VINCENT: <\/strong>TABLE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BONADONA TERRISSERS:<\/strong> PLANTER (EXTERIOR). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STUDIO PERRINE:<\/strong> WOVEN INSTALLATION (STAIR). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GAN RUGS: <\/strong>RUG (GUEST ROOM). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

N\u00daRIA EFE:<\/strong> CUSTOM PEDESTALS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ELOI SCHULTZ: <\/strong>CHAIR (LANDING), STOOLS (BAR). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TOSCOT:<\/strong> CEILING FIXTURES (KITCHEN). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONTAIN:<\/strong> PENDANT FIXTURES (BAR). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ATELIER DE TROUPE:<\/strong> SCONCE (RESTAURANT). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATER MARK COLLECTION:<\/strong> SINK FITTINGS (BATHROOM). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THROUGHOUT<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STUDIO DANIDEVITO:<\/strong> CUSTOM SCONCES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAGIC LINEN:<\/strong> BED LINENS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FLORES:<\/strong> BED PILLOW COVERS, LANDING TABLES. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CER\u00c0MICA CUMELLA:<\/strong> TERRA-COTTA ELEMENTS. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n