An architect promoting the use of local and natural materials
Carles Oliver Barceló is an architect from Mallorca, born in Felanitx in 1979. He is the author of numerous residential rehabilitation projects on the islands of Formentera and Mallorca. Oliver proposes new constructive approaches, focusing on environmental, social and economic sustainability.
In 2011 Oliver was part of the rehabilitation team of Can Lis, a project by the famous Danish architect Jørn Utzon. Can Lis is located in Porto Petro in Mallorca and was Utzon’s summer home. It is renowned for its architecture, built in 1972 using local materials and traditional Mallorcan construction methods.
Traditional architecture with a high level of sustainability
The projects developed by the Mallorcan architect have received numerous national and international awards, including the climate change adaptation project “Life Reusing Posidonia” in Formentera, which aims to regulate the environmental impact in the building sector. In a pilot building with 14 public housing units, formulas are being tested to reduce the ecological footprint, both during construction and during the building’s useful life.
In addition to being a renowned architect, Carles Oliver is the director of the Technical Department of the Balearic Housing Institute (IBAVI). In the Premis Ciutat de Palma 2022, Oliver and his team of architects have received the Guillem Sagrera Architecture Prize, being awarded for the development of 8 public housing units in the street Salvador Espriu in the neighbourhood of Amanacer, Palma de Mallorca.
The project, promoted by IBAVI, has a total of 27 social housing units in two buildings and aims to be a benchmark in construction with local materials. The award-winning building represents a commitment to traditional construction values and architecture with a high level of sustainability.
It is an innovative project that stands out for the use of local and natural materials with low environmental impact such as marés stone, posidonia and reused wood. The Mediterranean offers many resources and, on the other hand, recycling can also be a way of facing climate change.
“Local materials respond to the needs of the 21st century,” says Oliver, who has become a leading architect in promoting new models of production and consumption in architecture and construction.
For more reading and photos from the projects of Carles Oliver:
Life Reusing Posidonia Formentera
