Can Monroig, a different Inca. / Mallorca Newspaper

 Can Monroig, a different Inca.

“This house located in the Call de Inca and of great historical importance, has been restored archaeologically giving special importance to the decoration.
Open sky circuit. Palma amb la dansa.When they bought the house, it was in a sorry state. Arches were bricked up, many small rooms, collapses, leaks, damp. However, the construction captivated them from the very first moment. In fact, when Robert and Marie-Noëlle are asked what their job really consists of, they like to answer that they “recover” old houses, those with soul, history and character. Some kind of special energy flows through them, which must be respected and, above all, understood. Unfortunately, we are used to seeing renovations where all this disappears in the name of comfort and modernity, which is not always well understood.

The reform of Can Monroig was complete. After redoing roofs, forgings, etc. the work consisted of freeing the house of partitions and additions. Stripping the house, leaving the different periods that have passed through it visible and palpable: Muslim, gothic, baroque. Creating spaces and volumes but respecting the traditional techniques that were once used, tapial, lime and earth mortars.

Today, this type of construction using earth, adobe, and rammed earth is among the proposals for modern architecture due to its unrivalled thermal characteristics, which facilitate the maintenance of heat in winter and insulation in summer, with the consequent energy savings. The house has been restored with sustainability criteria, using ecological materials, including paints and insulation, which are 100% natural and recovered from old materials such as stone and terracotta tiles.
The touch of elegance is provided by the polychrome doors, some of them Gothic, some floors with remains of ancient polychromy that have been respected and incorporated with care. The decoration is a reflection of the professional career of its owners with more than fifteen years of experience in antiques, decorative painting, classic and own designs or customized furniture that surprises time and again.
The result is certainly unconventional, it has duende. As Lorca said, defining it is that “mysterious power that everyone feels and no philosopher explains.”

Article published in El Diario de Mallorca. The house / architecture on August 7, 2011 and signed by Esteban Mercer Palou.