Villa Can Ressol in Ibiza was published in the Living magazine of Corriere della Sera, n.7/8 of July-August 2022. The project was made by the Rodrigo Izquierdo Design Studio.
Under the Ibizan sun
TEXT PAOLA MENALDO – PHOTO VALENTINA SOMMARIVA – STYLING GIULIA TAGLIALATELA
The villa is located in the heart of the island on a north-facing hill and is surrounded by a pine forest with trees up to 15 meters tall. What used to be a rural body built in the 80s has been recovered and redesigned by the interior designer Rodrigo Izquierdo «We fell in love with this house because of the umbrella pines that surround it. In the garden, the sun’s rays filter through the branches of the trees, and we have recreated the same feeling inside. Here the most beautiful thing is the light, always cropped, never direct». Interior designer Rodrigo Izquierdo talks about the summer home he designed for himself and his partner in Ibiza. Both creative, they had been looking for a house to buy together for some time. Instead of Milan, where they live, they found it in the Balearic Islands. That building in the center of the island discovered during the pandemic immediately seemed like the ideal place to meet up with friends and family. Originally from Barcelona, Izquierdo has lived in Italy since 2005, when he started working in Patricia Urquiola’s studio. «When I arrived there were 5 or 6 people at most, I left when we were 70», he tells of that experience that he concluded in 2016 to found his own studio. “It was all very natural,” he assures. And ‘natural’ is a word he often uses to describe his Ibizan home, where the style is the result of a series of spontaneous choices. «First of all we asked ourselves what we wanted from a residence by the sea. For us it was essential that it was functional, comfortable, welcoming and with the spaces cut in the right way. Originally it was a rural housing unit made up of different volumes built over time without a real logic, there was a need to put the plan in order. Now the base is very clean; it’s true, there are lots of cushions and objects, but the lines are severe and essential».
It is no coincidence that the reference points are the rationalist works of the 50s and 60s by architects such as Josep Lluís Sert with his Can Pep Simó residential complex in the Cap Martinet area in Ibiza and Peter Harnden and Lanfranco Bombelli with their villas in Cadaqués. What made the renovation particularly challenging was the location of the building on a north-facing hill. But what could initially seem like a flaw has become a strength. «Normally facing south allows you to receive the maximum amount of light, here it is the opposite: yet, thanks to the large open windows in the living area and the skylights on the roof, the interior manages to be incredibly bright. The fact that the two facades open to the east and west allows you to see the sun rise on one side and watch it set on the other: it is something magical that would not have been possible elsewhere. The architectural project has brought the perception of light that one has outside into the home as well». Outside, the pine forest has been cleaned up and the garden arranged with the help of the landscape architect Flavio Pollano. «The house is in Ibiza but it could also be in France, Brazil or Congo. We wanted to recreate a feeling of escapism and relaxation while avoiding the typical Balearic folklore». Rather, the villa draws inspiration from the Mediterranean vernacular style without ever falling into local clichés, thanks to an unusual mix of colors and finishes. The rooms have been customized with materials with a rough texture: compacted stone and concrete for the floor, lime walls, white-painted ceiling beams and Tanganyika frisé wood for the boiseries and doors. «It was a peasant villa, not a historic residence from the 1600s, we wanted to preserve that rustic spirit by interpreting it in our own way». For the windows, for example, instead of the usual blue, we chose a green that recalls the needles of the pine trees. The interiors vibrate with the saturated colors that we love». Many of the furnishings are custom-made, from the built-in sofas to the whiskey-colored tiled bench. The others come from Milan, where they had been hoarded while waiting for a house yet to be bought, or they were bought on the spot: ranging from the original brutalist chairs from the 60s to others bought cheaply at the flea market around the corner. «Beautiful materials, beautiful colors, beautiful textures: nothing else. We did what came naturally to us. Nothing better for a vacation home.”
