Terracotta patio tiles for Santa Magdalena: Luis Laplace’s perfect house in Menorca

One of the most beautiful houses in all the Mediterranean. Such is the unexpected contribution that the French-Argentinian firm Laplace has made to the urban landscape of Mahón, in Menorca, with the new private house of Luis Laplace and Christopher Comoy themselves, called Santa Magdalena (Saint Magdalene).

This dream-like villa, situated ten minutes away from the beach in the rural interior of the Balear island, is constructed over the hal-ruined, abandoned remains of an old dairy. Laplace saw right away the enormous potential of the place, and through a very conscious reform that was respectful of the local landscape, culture and businesses, he got to transform this Menorcan corner into a true paradise.

Santa Magdalena is a whimsical home, full of Mediterranean texture and color, where natural materials like clay, stone, glass and natural fibers reign. For the clay part, Laplace has tapped on our shoulder: we provided a terracotta brick floor for the back porch.

rustic terracotta patio tiles for a purely mediterranean porch

What we could bring to this oasis of savoir faire and good taste was a set of terracotta patio tiles in Albero (an Andalusian type of sedimentary rock of a very characteristic ochre shade) and Rojizo (rust red) colors.

The patio tiles are set in a classic arrow disposition with a frame of parallel bricks, acting as a bridge between the nature outside and the shelter inside.

By choosing fired clay brick flooring for the porch, you not only achieve aesthetic integration, but also improve the bioclimatic conditions of the space, even outdoors. Terracotta is a highly porous material that slowly absorbs and releases moisture. This property helps regulate the thermal sensation and humidity of the environment, making spaces warmer in winter and cooler in summer: ideal in a location like Menorca, where summers are hot and winters are mild.

the love for vernacular architecture

If there is something that inmediately stands out about Laplace, is his love for vernacular architecture. Just as the designer told Architectural Digest Spain, architecture plays a big role in the lives of local Menorcan families. Many features of vernacular architecture are purely functional: like whitewashing the walls made of rock and clay to clean and disinfect them, the use of local materials or the orientation and distribution of the house to make the most of natural conditions in favour of an instinctively bioclimatic architecture.

The Santa Magdalena house preserves the essence of Menorcan architecture intact. That is why the renovation has taken into account not only the material and aesthetic aspects, but also the work of local craftsmen and professionals, who recognize all these characteristics as their own.

There is also room for globalism within this exercise in respect for the local: the furniture and decoration subtly evoke Laplace’s other nationalities. There are traces of his Argentine origins and the dual French citizenship he shares with Comoy, who is also the CEO and co-founder of the firm.

Laplace says he never feels like a stranger in the places he chooses, and if there is one thing that Santa Magdalena radiates, it is the welcoming vibe that citizens of the world like Laplace and Comoy are able to bring with them wherever they go.