![\"White-washed](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/202305-casa-estudio-galaroza-inn_01_2048-e1777570102125.jpg\")
<\/p>\nArchitecture \u2013 Spain
Finding balance<\/p>\n
When architects are overseeing a renovation, it can be challenging to strike the balance between the needs to conserve and introduce contemporary features. Architect Carlos G\u00f3mez Sos\u2019s revamp of his family\u2019s medieval home \u2013 known as La Posada and located in a small town in the province of Huelva, southwestern Spain \u2013 was a five-year labour of love that found the necessary equilibrium.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe house hadn\u2019t really been modified since the 18th century but I didn\u2019t want to demolish it,\u201d says G\u00f3mez Sos. \u201cEvery residence has a soul and you first have to understand that soul before you can move forward. I recycled as many materials as possible and preserved traditional construction techniques and materials, particularly the exposed stonework and woodwork design.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"Modern](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/202305-casa-estudio-galaroza-inn_12_2048-e1777570169701.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Large](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/202305-casa-estudio-galaroza-inn_20_2048.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
G\u00f3mez Sos turned to local artisans for fresh additions to the space, including raw-wood panelling, custom bookcases and new stairs. \u201cThere\u2019s a robust tradition of carpentry in this village in Huelva, where architecture isn\u2019t just a profession but a matter of pride,\u201d he says. It\u2019s appropriate, then, that the space also doubles as the architect\u2019s studio. \u201cFor architects, work is a lifestyle, so La Posada is my reflection of this attitude towards my profession.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spread across three floors, the home\u2019s defining feature is a large, newly installed window that overlooks the garden. Its construction was a delicate operation that involved cutting into an interior wall but G\u00f3mez Sos was there every step of the way. \u201cLike the captain of the ship, if the project had gone down then I would\u2019ve gone down with it,\u201d he says. \u201cLife is about finding comfort in a place \u2013 and I\u2019ve found the place where I belong.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Design
Nic Monisse on\u2026
An inspirational island<\/p>\n
I rounded out my summer with a trip to Mallorca. While the Balearic island is home to famous architecture, there are plenty of small details that creatives can apply to their own work. Here are five design-minded takeaways:<\/p>\n
1.
Use common sense<\/p>\n
Getting to some of Mallorca\u2019s beaches can require scaling cliffs but simple design additions make it possible: large eye hooks screwed into slippery rocks offer secure grips, concrete pads poured between boulders function as diving boards, and handrails made from olive trees are a steadying presence when walking down a hill. In many countries, these wouldn\u2019t pass building codes. Sometimes applying common sense over standards is a sensible option.<\/p>\n
2.
Details matter<\/p>\n
The metal pit lids and manhole covers for the water infrastructure in Dei\u00e0 are beautiful. Finished with the town\u2019s crest and an embossed striped pattern, they\u2019re reminiscent of Le Corbusier\u2019s manhole covers in Chandigarh, where cast-iron lids are engraved with a map of the city. Dei\u00e0\u2019s small detail makes potentially ugly infrastructure something to be proud of, lifting the quality of its streets.<\/p>\n
3.
Show some restraint<\/p>\n
Speaking of Dei\u00e0, the pretty hillside village is defined by its green-shuttered, limestone houses \u2013 an architectural status quo that could be threatened by developers. Thankfully, the town council has regulations to preserve its charms. Such guidelines ensure that the character that makes the town appealing isn\u2019t destroyed \u2013 plus, architects often work best when given a set of constraints to adhere to.<\/p>\n
4.
Hide in plain sight<\/p>\n
The Mir\u00f3 Mallorca Foundation is home to three outstanding buildings, with its flagship designed by Rafael Moneo. Sleek stone walls gently bounce light around the room\u2026 until it hits the bright-red fire extinguishers, which the Spanish architect didn\u2019t intend to make a focal point. Can we design these so they don\u2019t detract from the architecture? Fire-hose company Safe Crash makes cabinets that slot into the walls of buildings, hiding their products but ensuring that they\u2019re on hand if anything goes wrong.<\/p>\n
5.
Rethink tradition<\/p>\n
Artesan\u00eda T\u00e8xtil Bujosa is one of Mallorca\u2019s oldest family-run textile workshops. It has long made curtains, bedspreads, table furnishings and upholstery for wealthy families on the island but Stefania Borras saw an opportunity: clothing. Her fashion brand, Datura, uses Bujosa for a limited-edition clothing line, Terra, which sits within her wider collection. Bujosa\u2019s textiles have strengthened her brand\u2019s connection with the island.<\/p>\n
Landscape architecture \u2013 Taiwan
Beyond the sea<\/p>\n
The southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung is home to one of the island-nation\u2019s biggest ports. Despite this fact, the 100-year-old Gushan Fish Market, in the metropolis\u2019s waterfront Gushan neighbourhood, has gone from a bustling place of commerce to a forgotten waterfront asset in a matter of decades (a booming offshore fishing trade is supposedly to blame). In a bid to reclaim some of the site\u2019s former glory, Taiwanese design studio CM Chao Architect & Planners was tapped to lead a revitalisation that has preserved the historical memory of the market while making it suitable for contemporary needs.<\/p>\n
![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dji_0385.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Ground-level](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/gushan-fish-market_cm-chao-architect-and-planners_c-rex-chu_5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
To do so, the architects opted to keep the original, century-old Dutch-style brick structure at the site\u2019s entry. \u201c[By preserving] the original structure, the public can appreciate the history of the market as they enter,\u201d says CM Chao, whose team connected the old entryway to a new linear building that now houses the fish market, as well as the government\u2019s Fishery Office and the newly minted Gushan Ferry Station.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a move that provides the building a purpose beyond fishy transactions and is complemented by landscaping from landscape studio Motif. The Taipei- based firm has designed a series of pathways that snake through mounds of grass that provide public servants, vendors and passengers a place to unwind on the seafront. The result? A project that sensitively taps in to the site\u2019s history to inform its new use \u2013 and an admirable model for any city looking to breathe life into their own forgotten sites.<\/p>\n
Urbanism \u2013 Aarau
Spanning ages<\/p>\n
The town of Aarau in northern Switzerland is defined by the Aare river: its riverbank on the edge of its old town is a place of leisure for locals and has been the site of countless constructions spanning the river since Roman times. A newly finished bridge, defined by seamlessly constructed concrete arches, might just be the most elegant attempt yet. Designed by Basel-based architects Christ & Gantenbein, it replaces a concrete structure from 1949.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/07_new-aare-bridge_photocstefano-graziani.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe approached the design of the New Aare Bridge with a respect for this history and a vision for the future,\u201d says Emanuel Christ, who co-founded Christ & Gantenbein with Christoph Gantenbein in 1998. For the new bridge, the architects drew inspiration from Aarau\u2019s medieval architecture and the river\u2019s natural environment to create a structure that looks traditional but has features \u2013 such as large openings beneath its deck, which offer glimpses of the waterway from riverside paths \u2013 that could only be achieved by using modern construction methods. \u201cTogether with the engineers, I think we managed to create a blend of old and new in a bridge that connects not just two sides of a river but also the past and the present,\u201d says Christ.<\/p>\n
The five arches partially rest on the two foundations of the old bridge, with a geometry that, according to the architects, \u201cemploys concrete sparingly\u201d. Seamlessly linking with existing streets and promenades, the 119-metre-long structure has space for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. The result is a structure that is impressive architecturally and is an essential civic work. Or, as Christ puts it, \u201cThe New Aare Bridge is not just a bridge \u2013 it is a piece of the urban fabric, contributing another layer to the city\u2019s evolution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Architecture \u2013 SpainFinding balance When architects are overseeing a renovation, it can be challenging to strike the balance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[291,18013,18014,18015,8062,18016,17],"class_list":["post-37855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-architecture","tag-carlos-gomez-sos","tag-huelva","tag-medieval-house","tag-renovation","tag-restoration","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}