“Restore the splendor in a natural way” / Diario El Mundo

Restoring splendour naturally or how to restore an old farmhouse using traditional and ecological techniques / Noëlle Ginard and Roberto López explain.

“Old houses can be transformed into pleasant and comfortable spaces using traditional techniques that respect what already exists. This is the belief of Marie Noëlle Ginard Feron and Roberto López Hinton, who after several years dedicated to decoration and antique furniture in Pollença, have introduced themselves to the restoration of old houses based on these criteria. The best example is their own headquarters in Inca, a listed house of Gothic origin with Baroque elements.

Ca'n Monroig, as the estate is called, is built using the rammed earth technique, which is widely used in the old houses of Palma, Inca and Sineu. It consists of filling a formwork with layers of earth and lime, compacting it all with a tamper. On one of the interior walls a piece of rammed earth has been left visible where this technique can be perfectly appreciated, including the marks of the planks used in the formwork.

The house was in a lamentable state of disrepair when these two entrepreneurs got down to work. Over time it was subject to several changes and the work provided no small number of surprises during the restoration works. Noëlle and Roberto believe that the last great transformation of Ca'n Monroig must have happened around a century ago, when it went from being a cellar to becoming a family home, filling it with partitions and hiding its arches, including an impressive pointed arch of Gothic origin whose dimensions surprise you as soon as you enter the house.

Among the finds, several architectural elements from before the 17th century stand out: three winepresses formerly used to ferment grapes and a potter's oven next to two water wells, which were found attached to the façade and below ground level. A discovery that makes perfect sense since Ca'n Monroig is located at the end of Gerrers Street, in the Sant Francesc area (the old pottery district of Inca).

Given the deterioration and the dimensions of the house, 500 square metres plus a patio, the restoration work was intense and took longer than originally planned. They completely rebuilt the roof and all the floors, preserving the tiles and beams that were in good condition. The walls, which were subject to leaks from the roof, were all chipped away and plastered again with lime mortar to which they added natural insulation.

"We think that old houses, which are generally built with stone, earth, clay and lime, should be restored with the same materials they were built with. This way, cracks, dampness, and falling off, etc., can be avoided," say Noëlle and Roberto, who have just completed a project for an old house in Pollença.

They used different types of lime in all the restoration phases, for example replacing Portland cement with hydraulic lime concrete and using lime mortar to cover the walls. This material is not only aesthetically impeccable, but is also healthier because it allows the walls to breathe and regulates the temperature inside the house. For the finishes they opted for natural paints and lime paints. They also recovered part of the old flooring, consisting of large stone slabs and a cobblestone pavement that they had to complete. For the rest they used lime-based floors and old clay tiling.

If the interior of the house is dazzling with its seemingly impossible spaces, the façade is a beautiful example of the technique of inlaying small stones on lime mortar, which can still be seen in old houses in Mallorca. The mortar had fallen off, so they had to reintegrate the areas in poor condition with a mortar of similar composition to the original; for the inlays they had to collect a large quantity of pebbles collected in a nearby quarry.

The result is a space dedicated to the restoration and rehabilitation of old houses with recovered materials and traditional and ecological construction techniques (www.canmonroig.com). All of this combined in a place where architecture, art and design come together to create a surprising space.”

Maria Arnanz
Special rehabilitation and construction.
El Mundo Newspaper / Balearic Day
February 27, 2010.