OFFICE 44

Three villas occupy a vast rocky terrain on the island of Ibiza, each maintaining a required distance from the others. Though they gradually decrease in scale as they rise up the slope from the seashore, the villas share similar formal features. The first one is structured around an elevated square platform that incorporates a swimming pool amidst a grid of palm trees. The main living quarters are concentrated in an existing cubic volume along a path that forms one side of the platform, while a guest house with a small terrace is integrated within the other retaining wall. The second villa is a compact, half-sunken square volume over two levels, with a swimming pool on its flat rooftop. Its plan is composed as an enfilade of six identical rooms surrounded by an array of terraces, stairs, bathrooms and other auxiliary spaces. A long straight stair and a ramp leading to the rooftop are carved out from the two sides of the single volume. Furthest from the shore is the third villa, another half-sunken compact volume, with a reduced footprint over four levels. Here the square plan develops around an introverted central room, enclosed on all sides by smaller rooms, bathrooms and auxiliary spaces, all of them compressed beneath a single outdoor stair that encircles the cubic volume. The stair landings serve as terraces and provide access to different floors, leading up to a flat rooftop with a swimming pool and views towards the sea and the other villas, which are perceived as a related set of objects that organise the territory.