A matter of context at Can Olivar

Fortunately, context is Iván’s speciality. In place of fragmented spaces and purposes, he sought to unify – structure with structure and building with landscape. By joining these dots, Can Olivar now revolves around “a daytime programme”– a central core housing living and dining spaces and a kitchen, which opens onto terraces that infuse the footprint with light and air, and extend everything outwards. Off this hub, two bedroom wings splinter, grounded by another round of patios.

“We wanted Can Olivar to be much more than a house,” he explains. “It had to be intimate yet open, capable of moving people and enabling them to live life to the full.” The goal was to create an atmosphere where serenity and spaciousness coexist, he muses. Somewhere with scale and soul; expansive yet cocooning.

For Iván, the solution to balancing these contradictions is found in the subliminal, in-between spaces that deserve to be given just as much weight as the main living quarters. “These transitions become a counterpoint to different moods, purposes and environments,” he says, referencing Can Olivar’s sequence of patios, porches, terraces and galleries – “a system of intermediate spaces that act as filters to blur the boundary between inside and out.”

For what is context without considering the villa’s surroundings. Ultimately, it’s the landscape that shapes the rhythm of life here. Inner courtyards introduce greenery and water features as regulating elements, porches become transitions of shade and coolness, and bedrooms are orientated either towards the sunrise or sunset to synchronise sleepers with the circadian clock. “In this way, architecture naturally aligns with the cycles of the body, and the environment enhances wellbeing,” notes Iván.

Just as the scenery seeps inside, the architecture reaches outside, too. In place of beams, a carob tree provides the structure for al fresco living, while the sense of flow felt internally extends into the wild and undone Martín Toimil designed garden. “The revived orange grove perfumes the transition between house and pool, as if the space itself was another room, another tenet of the architecture,” Iván observes.

Another fundamental building block, and perpetual source of inspiration for Iván, is Ibiza’s architectural vernacular. The challenge, he attests, lies in honouring that legacy without falling into literal imitation, all while providing comfort and modern-day convenience. “The traditional payesa house offers clear lessons: simple volumes, thick walls, central patios that organise life, and sober proportions adapted to the climate,” he elaborates. “In our studio, we interpret these and recast them with contemporary techniques.”

A former President of the College of Architects of Ibiza and Formentera, Iván is particularly attuned to the responsibility the island’s architects share to preserve, protect, honour – and evolve. “Designing here means extending Mediterranean tradition through a contemporary lens, creating homes that are both an escape and a viewpoint,” he affirms.

Under his watch, patios remain central to his studio’s creations but also infuse light and connect visually with the landscape. Thick walls continue to convey solidity, while also integrating insulation, services and energy efficiency. And large façade openings become frames that turn the outside into inner gardens. Technology, meanwhile, is integrated as an invisible support that eases life without altering the architectural essence. “It’s not a question of tradition versus modernity,” he reasons. “By blending both in daily gestures, we give rise to architecture that is considered, grounded yet fully current.”

Every project is a new challenge, and an opportunity to refine rather than repeat. That said, common themes prevail – from the acknowledgement of landscape as inseparable from architecture to the treatment of light as a structural material.

In every case though, it all comes back to context. Iván’s conviction is resolute: “Architecture must belong to its place, serve its people and move them emotionally. It must be honest, conscious and deeply rooted in its surroundings.”

For Iván, his profession is not about products but legacies – and something that his practice continues to build on. Recently, the studio celebrated the opening of a new Ibiza showroom, intended as a meeting place for clients and collaborators, old and new. The best, he believes, is still to come. As he puts it, succinctly: “For us, architecture is not only about building spaces; it’s about building the future.” In context, of course.

Can Olivar is available to rent from €41,000 per week.