Would you carry a tape measure in mind, to gauge how long this path is? That long, long path led to Neuendorf House, the renowned masterpiece by John Pawson and Claudio Silvestrin. A fortress-like structure with solid walls surrounded it, interrupted only by a narrow crevice.
Those thick walls felt unexpectedly light, partly because of their pink color, a mix of concrete and Spanish soil. The whole structure seemed to grow from the land. With walls that enclosed it like petals, the house rose like a rose in that nomadic landscape.
- Words: Fynn
- Photos: Yinjispace Paris Brummer
One might have felt a bit forlorn there, alone in that almond grove with just that solitary structure. Thankfully, there was a guiding companion: the low wall running alongside. It both guided and compelled you forward. The slot ahead, a missing part of the wall, projected and stretched along the path, descending the slope. It drew you in—into the void within the solid walls.
Step by step, each at a distance, had us climbed towards the crevice. The courtyard awaited, a void connecting upward to the sky. This closeness offered several exits. In the corner met the swimming pool. It extended towards the natural backdrop, a picture perfectly framed within the structure's rectangle.
Inside, the corridor's windows brought in light with a rhythmic pattern. Light, pause, light, pause—the daylight played a tune as it touched the floor. In another room, light entered in clean, neat strokes on the pain wall.
Perhaps to compensate for the towering walls, the clay tennis court descended into the earth, carving out a void. It was quite tricky—you always passed through a narrow space before emerging into the openness of the sky, with your body physically enveloped in the walls.
The wind of Mallorca had crafted the soft soil into this solid form. Even the light, harsh as it was, cast shadows on the structure with no hesitation. Only the wind wrapped around the trees, their shadows wavering on the walls.
Our gratitude went to Caroline Neuendorf for hosting us and sharing the house's story, including the serendipitous encounter with Pawson on a Tuscan beach, when Neuendorf was not yet famous in the art world and Pawson was still relatively unknown.
When the Neuendorfs discovered the land, it was simply a beautiful, untouched place. They bought it because of its inherent magic, and indeed, it became a place of true enchantment.
