Residence for the Elderly in Mahón, Menorca

A 120-bed residence for dependent persons on the site of the former Santiago Barracks in Mahón. Two interlocking volumes organised into six independent modules around two courtyards and three gardens. The programme is distributed across ground and first floors, freeing the street level to restore the public route of the old camí d’en Guixò.

The modular organisation allows each residential unit to function autonomously, grouping bedrooms, communal areas and service spaces around their own courtyards. The two main courtyards and three intermediate gardens provide cross ventilation and controlled orientations to every room.

The deep, inhabitable facade — clad in timber slats and panels — acts as a solar filter and as an extension of the living space towards the outdoors. This wrapping skin generates galleries, porches and shaded areas that blur the boundary between interior and garden, offering residents sheltered routes in the open air.

The high-performance envelope — thermal-bridge-free, with heat recovery ventilation and high-insulation glazing — follows Passivhaus principles, targeting an A-grade energy certification. The thermal mass of the concrete combined with the solar protection of the timber reduces the building’s energy demand in a Mediterranean climate of intense summers.

The project recovers the pre-existing urban trace, creating a public landscaped space that restores the memory of the place. Where once stood a closed military compound, the residence opens its ground floor to the city and gives the neighbourhood back a pedestrian route lost for decades.

Drawings