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Vernacular architecture in Mallorca

Clastra (estate courtyard)

At a glance

Patio of the Mallorcan farmhouse. The DCVB defines it as a patio located in the front or central part of a pagès house (marked Mall.). It is the heart of the…

Architecture and engineering
Vernacular architecture in Mallorca

What is

Patio of the Mallorcan farmhouse. The DCVB defines it as a patio located in the front or central part of a pagès house (marked Mall.). It is the heart of the possessió house .

##Com works

  • Distribute. From the clastra you enter the lords' house, the master's house, the tafona, and the stables.
  • Climate. Outdoor space protected from the wind, with shade depending on the time of day. The bodies around shade each other.
  • Water. It usually collects rain into a cistern or well (to verify in each case). See cisterns and cisterns .
  • Control. A single portal to the outside: security and entry control.

Elements and vocabulary

  • clastra / clasta (variant registered with the DCVB)
  • forà portal (main entrance), cistern col (side; to verify local use)
  • pati (general term), corral (backyard for service in the town house)

History

  • Appears with the possessions (after 1229). Its relationship with the patio of the Andalusian house remains to be studied (to be verified).
  • In the Gothic urban house of Palma, the patio fulfills a similar role: noble floor organized around it (BOE, Gothic House, 2000).

On veure'n

  • Raixa and Alfàbia (Bunyola).
  • Public estates in the Serra: Son Moragues (Valldemossa), Planícia (Banyalbufar).

Stat

It is well preserved where the possessió is preserved. In hotel conversions, the clastra usually remains as a decorative patio and loses its working function.

Why is it design

The clastra solves both circulation, climate, water and security with a vacuum. Lesson: the space that is not built is also designed. It is proximitat design : order based on what there is.

Avui architecture

  • RipollTizon : 19 social housing in Sa Pobla organized around patios.
  • TEd'A : Can Jordi i n'Àfrica (Montuïri), courtyard house with thick walls.

For the project

  • Atlas: series of clast plants drawn at the same scale.
  • Chat with RipollTizon about the Mallorcan patio in public housing.

Frequently asked questions

What is Clastra (estate courtyard)?

Patio of the Mallorcan farmhouse. The DCVB defines it as a patio located in the front or central part of a pagès house (marked Mall.). It is the heart of the…

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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