Isla Architects has renovated a terraced home in Esporles, Spain, turning it into a light-filled space. Completed in 2024, the project involved opening walls to create a courtyard with various lighting features like sliding windows, skylights, and pivoting panels. The material palette includes lime mortar, green carpentry, and custom tiles, adding character to the main house and the newly added guest house on the adjacent plot.
Isla Architects has transformed a mid-terrace home into a light-filled space by purchasing an adjacent plot in Esporles, Spain. The renovation involved opening walls and adding various features to maximise natural lighting in the interior spaces.
Originally set in a tight site between a street and an alley, the house was expanded with a narrow, 25-meter-long (82-foot-long) plot. The new plot allowed the studio to create a courtyard for the main house and develop the project around this addition.
The main focus of the design was to explore different types of openings to bring light into the spaces. Isla Architects installed sliding windows, vertical and horizontal pivoting panels, arched French doors, circular skylights, guillotine windows, and liftable panes throughout the home.
The studio reconfigured the interior of the main house to adapt to its new context and optimise the use of natural light. The formerly enclosed spaces were opened and rearranged to allow for better connectivity between different areas.
A detached old garage was turned into a living room overlooking the alley, and the kitchen was repositioned to connect directly with the courtyard. The first floor was redesigned to include a large playroom with overhead lighting.
Additionally, the studio realigned the bathroom to give it terrace access and stacked the bedrooms, connecting them with new staircases.
In the elongated plot adjacent to the main house, Isla Architects designed a tiny guest house using the full 2.5-meter (8.2-foot) width of the structure. The new building’s facade facing the courtyard was opened completely to fit a kitchen, which also functions as a “chiringuito,” featuring a liftable window.
The bedroom, located on the first floor, is positioned within a double-height space, creating a sense of openness and spaciousness despite the narrow confines. The south end of the building is organised as a linear bathroom situated between the staircase and the corridor.
Isla Architects limited the project’s materiality to three key elements: lime mortar, green unified carpentry, and a custom Palladian-style floor. The lime mortar was selected in white and smooth for the interiors, while an earthy, textured version was applied to the facades.
The flooring was developed locally and specifically for the project, featuring subtly mismatched, irregularly placed tiles that served to unify and character to both homes.
The palette helped to create a cohesive environment throughout the interiors while facilitating seamless transitions between the new and existing spaces.
