S’Olivera – History, Part II

The above is an image of the studio and porch/garage which were added to our farmhouse circa 1991. The minimalist studio served its purpose : to provide a space for Susan to work from home. However, it lacked in many other aspects, the most obvious one being its integration into the architecture of the farm. Albeit being the first thing one saw when arriving to S’Olivera, it was not the main entrance. One had to walk around the whole house to find the entryway into the home.
Below is a view from the porch towards the entrance as well as towards the nearby fields.

Last week, the first step was taken towards the update of S’Olivera. The studio and porch were torn down. It was not only an aesthetic decision, but also a logistic one : the land on which S’Olivera lies is considered a protected rustic area, and for that reason, anything built before a certain date must come down. Luckily, it was our plan to tear it down and build a patio and entrance into our home.

Following are some images documenting the demolition. Although I know it’s for the best of S’Olivera, it’s still hard to watch a place where so many memories were created come down.

And finally, this is what it looks like now (actually, now it looks cleaner, after all the rubble was taken away). Now is where we start with the exciting part of rebuilding and rethinking our Menorcan farmhouse.

I read a funny quote recently that said something like ” construction is like dieting or quitting smoking … a lot of patience, but in the end.. it’s worth it!”

Stay tuned to see how it develops…

Thanks to my father, Marcel Villier, for taking the photographs of the demolition!