Shift House by NOMO STUDIO

Photo © Joan Guillamat

Location: Coves Noves, Menorca, Spain

Project size: 3,110 square feet

Program: On the Spanish island of Menorca, Shift House offers summertime refuge—and panoramic views of the Mediterranean—to a small family, with added space for guests.

Design Solution: Working with a small site, architects Alicia Casals and Karl Nyqvist of NOMO STUDIO began this villa by manipulating a simple rectangular volume with planer and sectional shifts. Fluted, sand-colored concrete walls are sliced by ribbon windows, terraces, and patios, creating a dynamic composition of solid and void, heaviness and lightness. Ample glazing ensures views in all directions and a constant deluge of daylight, too.

On the main floor, living and dining areas spill out onto a terrace (with a pool) that stretches toward the sea, providing what the architects call a “playful, boat-deck feeling.” An exterior stair leads up to a furnished roof deck, while five double bedrooms with private terraces and ensuite bathrooms are located on the lower floor. Below grade, storage and workspaces are lit by a sunken patio.

Photo © Joan Guillamat

Structure and Materials: Shift House is structured by concrete posts and one-directional slabs made of prefabricated beams and lightweight bricks. Rubble masonry privacy walls, teak casework, and soffits with wattle panels add a symphony of textures to the villa’s fluted facade. Inside, tones are muted but equally rich: rough-polished white concrete flooring and travertine steps complement off-white walls and beige micro-cement in bathrooms and in the kitchen. Built-in wardrobes and bathroom furniture made of pine feature airy ratan.

Additional Information Completion date: June 2022 Site size: .13 acres Total construction cost: $905,000 Client/Owner: Withheld

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Photos © Joan Guillamat

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Images courtesy NOMO STUDIO, click to enlarge

Architect:NOMO STUDIOC/Mestre Nicolau 2708021 Barcelona+34 935 340 790www.nomostudio.eu

Design team Design Lead and Principal: Alicia Casals San MiguelPrincipal: Karl Johan Nyqvist - SARProject Team: Jennifer Méndez, Mira Botseva, Blanca Algarra

Engineers Mus&Segui Arquitectos Técnicos (building engineer),Windmill Structural Consultants (structural)

Consultants Gabinet Tècnic (topography)PIMELAB (geotechnical)

General Contractor Construcciones Fernández Nájera SL

Photographer Joan Guillamat

Structural SystemStructure: Cast-in-place concrete, concrete prefabricated beams and lightweight concrete bricks

Exterior Cladding Masonry: White fluted concrete blocksMetal/glass curtain wall: Glass handrails with hidden floor supportRainscreen: Waterproofing super matt coatingPrecast concrete: Floor-slabs made of prefabricated beams and lightweight concrete bricksWood: Iroko wood

Windows Metal frame: Brown-tone Anodized Aluminum, TECHNAL

Glazing Glass: Double glazing with 90% argon chamber and low-emissivity film

DoorsEntrances: Iroko woodMetal doors: Galvanized metal covered with Aquapanel board and sandstone mortarWood doors: Pine woodSliding doors: 3 panel sliding door, pine wood (kitchen)

HardwareLocksets: stainless steelClosers: stainless steel

Interior Finishes Wall coverings: (Micro-cement in bathrooms and kitchen)Resilient flooring: Cast-in-place white concrete

LightingInterior ambient lighting: Ceiling-embedded downlights, wall-embedded light in interior stairDownlights: Ceiling-embedded downlightsTasklighting: Wall-mounted lightsExterior: Wall-embedded with concrete lamps, Floor-embedded spotlights, garden mobile spike lights integrated in vegetationDimming system: JUNG LS 990, matt white

PlumbingBathroom faucets: Sanycces Loop, nickel matt finishingKitchen faucet: Blanco Finess, brushed stainless steelKitchen washbasin: Blanco, Claron, brushed stainless steel

EnergyEnergy management or building automation system: Aerothermal heat pump for air-conditioning and sanitary water