A New Life for Mas Carpi
An intervention that aims to contribute to the recovery of the agricultural cultural heritage of Alt Camp. A project of recycling that preserves the memories and experiences of those who work and inhabit the territory.
At the highest point of an agricultural estate dedicated to the cultivation of olive and almond trees near the Monastery of Santes Creus, in Alt Camp, Catalonia, stands a small stone refuge that is part of a set of isolated and minimal stone constructions scattered throughout the territory, shelters originally built to manage crop fields.
Following the ancestral logic of maximum use of resources and built with the local stone, these ancient constructions blend with the stone terraces that structure the entire territory, forming a single indissoluble unit that builds the identity of this cultural landscape. Sheltered under four pine trees that provide shade and with views to the south, overlooking the Camp de Tarragona and the sea at its feet, its location was privileged.
Only a few stone walls remained standing from the original construction, which had been gradually renovated through fragile and precarious solutions that had blurred its identity.
The rehabilitation project of Mas Carpi is a global recovery operation of the original construction. Firstly, restoration and replacement, where necessary, of the vertical stone wall structure with stone recovered from old demolished terraces on the plot itself. Secondly, demolition and replacement of the existing horizontal roof with a new laminated wood structure and a ceramic roof of flat tiles. Also improving lighting and ventilation by opening new windows to achieve a better relationship between the interior and exterior, and, finally, enabling and activating the interior through new furniture and the renovation of the facilities to make it completely self-sufficient through solar energy, covering all the electrical demand of the project.
An intervention to give a second life to the Mas as a home, taking advantage of everything that exists and using natural materials from the place and with low environmental impact, using passive bioclimatic strategies adapted to the site's conditions. A rehabilitation that tries to maintain the essence of the old construction and its close relationship with the landscape of Alt Camp.
