Who is / What is
The Institut Balear de l'Habitatge (IBAVI) promotes public housing and, from its technical department, has turned marès into material for contemporary social housing. Carles Oliver Barceló (Felanitx, 1979; ETSAB) has been at IBAVI since 2009 and heads its technical department, with Antonio Martín, Xim (Joaquín) Moyà, Alfonso Reina and Maria Antònia Garcías.
Featured work (Mallorca)
- 8 homes in Portocolom (2005 project, Oliver): marès; I Poraxa Prize for Sustainable Architecture (2012).
- 5 social housing Regal 97, Son Gotleu, Palma (2019): all load-bearing walls made of marès - "the industrialized material with the smallest footprint in Mallorca" -, recycled cotton insulation, FSC carpentry.
- Salvador Espriu Housing, Palma (phase 1, c. 2021): local sandstone vaults and arches and posidonia insulation; Marès façade seen. Special mention Premi d'Arquitectura de Mallorca 2020-2022.
- IBAVI also promotes the work of external studios: Living in Lime (Son Servera), 48 homes in Magaluf , Josep Togores , 57 homes in Es Molinar de Jesús de las Heras (marès on the ground floor + lime mortar) and 11 homes by Carles Enrich in the Coll d'en Rabassa (2024, on an old marès quarry; photo Adrià Goula).
- Outside Mallorca: Life Reusing Posidonia (Formentera), FAD Award 2018.
Relationship with the office
- Marès i stonecutters — structural marès, from island quarry.
- Calciners i forns de calç — lime mortars (Es Molinar).
- Dry Posidonia as an insulator: recovered traditional knowledge (please check your own file).
History
- 2009: Oliver joins IBAVI.
- 2012: Poraxa Award (Portocolom).
- 2018: FAD Award (Formentera).
- 2019: Regal 97 completed.
- 2022: AR Emerging Architecture Award to IBAVI and Oliver for the systemic use of local sandstone.
- 2026: OBEL Award for the "Balearic social housing model" (Cris Ballester and Carles Oliver, 2019-2023).
Why is indigenous design
It demonstrates that marès and posidonia are not luxury nostalgia but the cheapest and lowest carbon option for public housing: quarrying at the service of the common.
For the project
Article "el marès as social housing"; Oliver as the magazine's voice on the ecological footprint of the island's materials. Visit to Regal 97 and Salvador Espriu.
Photos
-  Regal 97, Son Gotleu — © José Hevia
-  Salvador Espriu, Palma — © José Hevia
-  Regal 97, detail — © José Hevia
Frequently asked questions
What is IBAVI and Carles Oliver?
The Institut Balear de l'Habitatge (IBAVI) promotes public housing and, from its technical department, has turned marès into material for contemporary social…
Sources
- metalocus.es/es/noticias/piedras-de-mar-cinco-viviendas-sociales-en-calle-regal-
- metalocus.es/es/noticias/viviendas-sociales-en-las-islas-baleares-12-ejemplos-de
- metalocus.es/es/noticias/el-modelo-de-vivienda-social-balear-ganador-del-premio-
- bustler.net/news/tags/thailand/5468
- construible.es/2012/09/06/carles-oliver-gana-el-i-premio-poraxa-de-arquitectura
- coaib.org/es/coaib/noticias/DetalleNoticia.aspx?id=14131
- baunetzwissen.de/drucken/sozialwohnungsbau-salvador-espriu-i-in-palma-de-mallorc
Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.