Home╱A Natural House

住宅╱自然之宅

Hemp, lime and marés, a natural house. This is the name Ideo Arquitectura have baptized this house in the south of the island of Mallorca. They have faced the project under the premise: "think global, act local". Or what is the same, "0" pollution and local resources.

HEMP. The house is 200 years old and suffered from a huge problem of rising damp. After evaluating options, they took a risk and decided to use it. They are pioneers in the islands in the use of hemp, and they hope to be an example for other architects. In Mallorca, and in almost all of Spain, this material has not yet been worked on due to ignorance and lack of companies that manufacture it (in 1961 the United Nations prohibited its cultivation, now lifted). Hemp is suitable for areas with high ambient humidity such as the island, since the hygrothermal regulation caused by this material increases comfort and saves energy.

They use hemp on the roofs due to its very high thermal capacity (three times higher than conventional treatments), and in the walls separating rooms due to its extraordinary acoustic capacities (high density). We learned that the raw energy consumed in its manufacture is very low, fast growing and easy to cultivate. It is healthy and highly durable. They have to know that the use of hemp in construction contributes to sequestering, and even reducing, greenhouse gases during the useful life of the building. Without a doubt, it is one of the materials of the future since it is also beginning to be used as a structural system, penalizing our esteemed concrete.

To make this rehabilitation an environmentally effective place, first of all, they had to consider what to do with the rubble generated by the work. Two maxims to begin with; reuse and recycling. The rubble from the demolition has been used to consolidate façade walls. The “marés” blocks from the old dryer have been used for the new furniture in the kitchen and bathrooms. The existing, very deteriorated pavement has been given a second life, reusing it in the lintels of the new openings in the façade. All of this contributes to reducing the use of the planet's resources.

Ideo Arquitectura have kept the northern pine (also from Mallorca) in mind for the doors and windows of the facades. They have endowed the carpentry with enormous personality with a new system of pre-frame-frame in a single piece in the shape of a "T" that Virginia del Barco has invented. The design responds to the lack of flatness of the interior facings of the 70 cm thick walls. Why not leave the gaps free and place all the carpentry on the inside face of the wall? Ideo Arquitectura did that. The "T" is embedded in a wound in the wall made for this purpose to consolidate the frame, and all the carpentry is directly visible. Again, the material in its essence, our goal always.

Lime construction is an ancient technique in Mallorca. Until now, it was only used on facades and vertical walls. They have dared and have also used it on floors and ceilings. The result of aesthetic and plastic continuity throughout the interior reveals an atmosphere of peace and calm, one of the few customer requirements.

這幢迷人的老房子座落於西班牙馬略卡島南方，建築師將之命名為「大麻、石灰與馬雷岩——自然之宅」。於本案，建築師秉持「全球思維，在地行動」為前提，著重零污染並實際採用地方資源，包含大麻（hemp，常用以製作麻繩、粗布）、島上的北方松木、石灰、馬雷岩等。

這棟老屋已有兩百年歷史，存在著濕氣過重的問題。建築師評估諸多選項，決定大膽於島上率先運用大麻，成為同業典範。就建築師所知，在馬略卡島甚至整個西班牙，幾乎無人使用大麻作為建材，主要原因是大麻長久以來受到忽視，且缺少生產源（聯合國1961年禁止大麻栽種，現已解禁）。然而，大麻相當適合環境溼度高的地區（例如馬略卡島），材料可調節溫濕度，提升住宅的舒適度，節省能源。

老屋內使用大麻的地方有屋頂和隔間牆，其熱容量高、密度高、隔音效果佳，栽種容易、生長快速，生產建材的粗耗能很低又強健耐用。所以當大麻應用到建材時，有效助於建築使用期間發揮碳吸存的功效，甚至能減少溫室氣體。大麻必然成為未來的建材之一，目前也開始應用到結構系統，取代長期以來人類依賴的混凝土。為確保本次整建具備環境效益，首先要思考如何處理過程中所產生的礫石。建築師秉持兩大原則：再利用與再生。拆除後的礫石可應用到立面牆體，而從舊乾衣房取得的「馬雷岩」（marés，一種從鄰近海域取得的砂岩）石塊，則可製作廚房與浴室的新傢俱。原有的破損石板路面也獲得新生，成為立面新門窗的楣石。這些作法皆有助於減少地球資源的使用。

建築師運用馬略卡島的北方松，打造立面門窗，也請木工發揮特色，採用新的預鑄系統。木構件由建築師維吉尼亞・戴爾・芭可（Virginia del Barco）發明，為單一的T型木件。這項設計能解決室內七十公分厚的牆體不夠平的問題，可保留牆面的平面落差，木作則完全嵌入室內牆面以內。T型木件嵌入牆體內特地打造的開口，以鞏固框架，而所有的木作都清晰可見。如此建材即可保留其特質，也吻合設計者的目標。

馬略卡的建築物自古以來就會使用石灰，但過去只應用在立面與垂直牆體。建築師大膽把石灰應用到地板與天花板，這種美學與彈性延續性的效果遍及室內，營造平和寧靜的氣氛，恰符合業主所提出的要求。