Architects: NOMO STUDIO
Area: 295 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Adrià Goula
Lead Architects: Alicia Casals, Karl Johan Nyqvist
Category: Houses
Engineering & Consulting > Structural: Windmill Structure
Project Management: Mus i Segui
City: Menorca
Country: Spain
Zenith House, a residential building designed by NOMO STUDIO on the Menorcan coast, has redefined the architectural relationship between structure and landscape through a low-impact, climate-responsive design. Completed on a gently sloping terrain, the house uses stepped platforms to reduce earth movement and preserve natural runoff patterns, reinforcing ecological resilience. Organized through eight tangent square modules, the plan balances solids and voids to generate patios and gardens, supporting both privacy and openness. The spatial layout transitions from public to private zones with an emphasis on gradated thresholds and shifting views, culminating in a framed horizon of the sea. Roof forms alternate between flat slabs and four-sided pitches, combining with skylights to modulate interior scale and light. Openings are strategically designed for illumination and views while maintaining thermal performance. Material choices, including terracotta pigmented mortar, off-white masonry, and limestone floors, emphasize raw tactility and contextual grounding. The project concludes with a sculpted water element that frames the landscape at a human scale, anchoring the house to its site both visually and experientially.
This single-story residence on the Menorcan coast extends across a landscape of pine trees and native vegetation. The design responds to the site’s topography by adjusting to the gentle slope through subtle folds and stepped platforms. In response to the growing frequency of extreme weather events, the architectural strategy reduces earth movement, prioritizing the natural flow of runoff and reinforcing the land’s resilience.
The formal organization is based on the aggregation of eight tangent square modules, forming a permeable arrangement of solids and voids that define patios and intimate gardens. A longitudinal circulation axis generates a spatial sequence of shifting views, ending in a landscape threshold that frames the maritime horizon. The roof system alternates between horizontal planes and four-sided pitched roofs, incorporating skylights that highlight spatial hierarchy and amplify the perception of scale as well as the dynamic between compression and expansion.
The building envelope, characterized by high thermal mass and predominant opacity, is interrupted by precisely calibrated openings that serve as devices for capturing light and views. These are complemented by overhead skylights, which provide consistent and nuanced illumination throughout the interior. Encompassing a total area of 300 m², the program includes five bedrooms, a central living-dining space with a semi-open kitchen, and a porch that functions as both a climatic interface and a transitional element. The project’s spatial logic is defined by its relationship to the surroundings, as all rooms open to the garden through thresholds that integrate seamlessly with the continuous flooring, enhancing a cohesive spatial experience between interior and exterior.
The layout is organized according to a programmatic gradation of privacy, with circulation areas acting as diffuse boundaries between public and private zones. The main entrance follows a peripheral path that leads to a shaded vestibular patio, where the four-sided pitched roof and surrounding vegetation establish a transitional threshold before reaching the foyer. Three strategically placed voids are incorporated into the overall volume: the entrance patio, a xerophytic garden beside the master bedroom, and a service patio connected to the laundry area.
The material palette emphasizes the integration of context and construction, using pigmented mortar in terracotta tones, off-white masonry, limestone flooring in sandy shades, and joinery made from okoume wood and travertine. The materials are left in their raw state to heighten the sensory experience of textures and densities, creating an atmosphere of tectonic refuge. A sheet of water extends toward the sea, merging into a contemplative space carved into the terrain, where the landscape is perceived at an intimate scale and in alignment with the human experience.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
Featured originally on Arquitectura Red and curated for Architecture Lab readers.
