ARCHITECTS OF THE YEAR

In the spirit of positivity that runs through our issue, we asked three architects who caught our eye this year about the building that most made them smile

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I recently completed my own home on the Isle of Wight. The budget was limited, but the project had an inherent sense of luxury in that I was in the unusual position of being my own client, so I could respond more nimbly and directly to project demands, such as the site's conditions, market pricing and contractor capacity. It was a deeply personal project, where the closeness of the relationship between the makers and the architect-client (me and myself) meant that normal constraints, such as the realities of a moving-in deadline, didn't have an effect on the project's aims.

This attitude is a great way to introduce the building that I wanted to talk about here, as it ties to ideas of flexibility, comfort and looseness - ultimately, having the trust and confidence to be relaxed about the result.

Can Lis in Mallorca was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon in 1971. It now hosts artist residencies through the Danish Arts Foundation in collaboration with the Utzon Foundation. I stayed there for two weeks in 2014 as part of that programme.

It is interesting to understand the context that it was created in. Utzon had just come back from working on the Sydney Opera House. He had resigned following disagreements with the client, left Australia for good, and was totally distraught. He decided to come to Mallorca and build a home for himself and his family. He first bought a plot up in the mountains, but the authorities at the time wouldn't allow him to build there. He ended up on the current site, which is an amazingly beautiful place on the cliff near Portopetro. Now, if you look at other Utzon buildings, they feel really precise and controlled geometric structures, and you have to remember this house was created by the man who had just come out of designing the dramatically modern Sydney Opera House; and the first thing he builds right after is this humble Mallorcan house made using traditional materials.