MVRDV + GRAS uplift mallorcan neighborhood with a collection of vibrant building designs

MVRDV and GRAs complete phase one of project gomila

MVRDV and GRAS Reynés Arquitectos have completed the construction of the first five out of seven buildings that make up Project Gomila in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Together, these vibrant structures look to transform the area around Plaza Gomila in the neighborhood of El Terreno by boasting their indivdiual character through distinct colors, materials, and rooflines. Adding a total of 60 new dwellings of various sizes and types, as well as new commercial spaces, Project Gomila is already well on the way to reviving the area as a vibrant, green, and sustainable residential area.

Project Gomila top view | image © Jannes Linders

a colorful mix of residential and commercial spaces

Centred around Plaza Gomila, close to the city’s harbour, El Terreno is a historic neighborhood of Palma that in the ‘60s and ‘70s was known for its nightlife, with famous performances by musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, and Tom Jones in its bohemian nightclubs. After a long period of neglect and decline, the Fluxà Family, owners of the Mallorca-based Camper shoe brand, purchased a series of neighbouring plots around the Plaza, initiating a renewal plan that echoed Camper’s philosophy of combining heritage with innovation and creativity.

The five buildings completed in phase one by MVRDV (see more here) and GRAS (here) include the Gomila Center, which forms the heart of the neighborhood. A renovation of a 1979 design by architect Pere Nicolau, this white building features a spacious patio on the ground floor, with a restaurant, office spaces, and apartments rising around this central feature in a series of stepping terraces and balconies. Next to the Gomila Center are the red townhouses known as Las Casitas, which are topped by a landscape of rooftop terraces allowing neighboring residents to socialize.

Gomila Center, sitting next to the Las Casitas townhouses | image © Daria Scagliola

On the other side of the Gomila Center, located on a prominent street corner, is Las Fabri-Casas, a set of row houses with a saw-tooth roof completed with blue ceramic façades. Tucked behind this is a low-carbon apartment building built from compressed earth blocks, with a communal rooftop swimming pool offering views towards the nearby Bellver Castle. Finally, across the street on the Plaza Gomila itself is the green La Plaza building, a renovated building that hosts a revival of the historic bar Bellver, offices, and a communal rooftop with views of the bay and the cathedral.

Las Casitas townhouses rooftop | image © Daria Scagliola

The Project Gomila buildings are energy neutral, using many of the same principles developed for the Passivhaus standard including high thermal efficiency and passive climate control measures such as shutters and cross ventilation to reduce energy needs. To utilize the many sun hours of Mallorca, the rooftops host solar panels while heat recovery systems further reduce the buildings’ energy consumption. Many of the materials have been sourced locally, reducing the carbon produced by the construction.

‘In terms of urbanism, the concept revolves around the diversity of the buildings,’ adds MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. ‘Where some of the designs are more suited to family homes, others are more suited for apartments for singles or couples; where some buildings are fully residential, others bring commercial functions into the mix. This diversity of people and spaces will help bring back El Terreno’s lost vibrancy.’

‘The Gomila Project activates a new centrality in Palma, a new meeting and reference point not just for the people in the neighbourhood, but for all the citizens,’ adds Guillermo Reynés, founder of GRAS Reynés Arquitectos. ‘

According to MVRDV and GRAS, the project has been very well received by locals, bringing back good memories that Palmesanos had of the area. The following phases of the project will add two further buildings to the ensemble: the yellow Casa Virginia, and a small villa next to the Gomila Center, both renovations of existing neighborhood buildings.