Today we have the privilege of speaking with Jaime Salvá, a Mallorcan architect based on the island of his birth. He not only has a successful professional career but has also demonstrated an exceptional ability to merge modern functionality with timeless beauty, a reflection of his deep respect and understanding of his homeland’s architectural heritage.
Salvá’s style is an ode to the Mediterranean. His designs are characterized by clean lines, spacious terraces, and a color palette that evokes the blue of the sea and the white of the coves typical of the Balearic landscape. This aesthetic not only captures the light and spirit of the landscape but also creates environments that invite calm and relaxation. His work is a testament to an architecture that, while deeply local, resonates universally, offering a retreat from the frenzy of modern life.
Jaime Salvá stands out not only for his artistic vision but also for his ability to connect on a personal level with each of his clients. He understands that each project is a dialogue, an opportunity to translate individual dreams and desires into tangible spaces. This empathy is key to his creative process, allowing him to design homes that are not mere structures, but spaces that reflect and enhance the lifestyles of those who inhabit them. His personalized approach is undoubtedly what has made him so sought-after in the field of luxury architecture.
In our conversation, Salvá will share not only the details of his most emblematic projects but also his vision for the future of Mediterranean architecture and its role in creating sustainable and humanly enriching communities. Through his words, we hope to offer a deeper look not only into his work but into the soul of an architect whose work is, in many ways, a bridge between the past and a more harmonious and sustainable future.
Question: With a family dedicated to interior design and construction, I’m not going to ask you where Jaime Salvá’s interest in architecture comes from, but it might make more sense to ask you about the challenge that raising the family bar even higher with a professional profile like yours that already has a more than significant career can represent. To what extent do you think the responsibility of carrying on the legacy of a family that can boast of having built such emblematic buildings in Mallorca as the Post Office building on Paseo del Borne, the Palacio March, and the S’Avall estate weighs heavily? Is it more of a responsibility or an inspiration or motivation?
Answer: For me, it’s not a responsibility, as I’ve never felt any pressure from my family. The most valuable inheritance I received from my father, besides his passion for architecture and design, is his firm determination to ensure that each project is carried out with excellence and quality above all else.
Today’s local architecture should not simply replicate models from the past but should evolve to reflect changes in contemporary lifestyles.
Q: Based on your professional experience, what essential aspects should a client consider when building a house based on an idea they have in their head? I imagine a large part of your job is aligning the client’s expectations with the reality of architecture. Translating those sometimes extravagant ideas into realities that exude beauty and practicality.
A: One of the most important issues a client must consider when building a house is the financial aspect. Unfortunately, construction costs increase over time, and since it’s a long process, mainly due to delays in obtaining building permits, the initially estimated construction costs can increase.
The other important point is to define the program of requirements as thoroughly as possible. The more information the architect has at the beginning of the project, the easier it will be to solve it and align it with the client’s wishes. It’s very helpful for us to share images and discuss them, so we can decipher their wishes, tastes, and preferences.
Q: How do you connect with your clients? What aspects do you need to understand to build a space that reflects their lifestyle?
A: I’m increasingly placing more importance on the initial phase of a project. Sometimes, clients don’t know what they want until they see a first scaled proposal and get a true idea of the size of their plot and the possibilities. And it’s at that moment that they finally fine-tune their program needs.
My job is to support them in this process, listen well before starting to draw, and be open to any changes to their program from what they initially planned. In many cases, it’s better to start a project from scratch based on new conditions than to constantly modify with small changes an idea that was initially conceived based on conditions different from the final ones.
Q: You define your architectural style as “contemporary Mediterranean.” Could you explain exactly what this way of understanding architecture entails?
A: From my perspective, the “contemporary Mediterranean” style involves adapting the traditional Mediterranean lifestyle to the needs and dynamics of modern life. It involves using local materials in combination with architectural forms that adapt to the functions and activities of today’s families, as well as to our climate and sociocultural context.
Today’s local architecture should not simply replicate models of the past but must evolve to reflect changes in contemporary lifestyles. Today, families tend to be smaller, working from home is common, the kitchen has become the social epicenter of the home, and activities such as exercise are carried out in the domestic space itself. Addressing these realities requires an innovative design approach, where the architectural form emerges as a direct result of the functions and needs it seeks to satisfy.
Q: Within the luxury industry, we’re witnessing a trend that places automobile brands within the complex real estate landscape through projects that aim to build skyscrapers, houses, and apartments that somehow reflect the brand’s values outside their usual scope of operations. We’ve seen this with Bentley and Aston Martin, for example. In your opinion, how do you capture the values of such different worlds as automobiles and buildings in an architectural space capable of awakening in the customer that unique experience of living in a place that aspires to be iconic?
A: I believe that brands today play a very important role in the world of lifestyle. They seek to create communities that share interests. The brands you mention are closely linked to the world of design and community building. The home is an element that reflects the personality of its inhabitants, and therefore, I understand why these companies have chosen this path. Anyone who buys an Aston Martin home knows what style it will have, and the fact that they’re backed by such a well-known brand can give them the peace of mind that every detail will be taken care of.
Q: At Discernin, we’re big fans of your work. Tell us how you manage to incorporate that distinctive element that makes each of your projects truly unique?
A. Each project is different. It responds to different conditions. The location, sun exposure, slope of the land, views, surroundings, as well as the client’s specific needs and compliance with strict local planning regulations.
When I begin the design phase of a project, the most important thing is to have all these conditions very detailed. The process of resolving each of the conditions results in the design of the home. This process becomes a “trial and error” process, where different solutions are tested until the right one is found. The goal is to develop different proposals that address all the constraints, discard those that don’t work, and prioritize the most promising when conflicts arise, until arriving, almost by elimination, at the final solution, confident that it’s the one that works best because I’ve already tried the other alternatives. The result of applying this method is unique designs, as specific constraints have been resolved.
Q: Is your best project always the one yet to come? Or do you like to look back and see how one of your works has made a special impression on you?
A: Projects take so long, between the design phase and licensing, that designs need to be timeless, generating solutions that work and endure over time. It’s inevitable to evolve, learning from our mistakes and accumulating references that enrich our ability to approach new designs and solve problems. That’s why I always say the best project is the next one, although I have great affection for all the ones I’ve done in the past.
Q: The architect is very important, no doubt, but what about the person? To what extent do the person, their culture, their passions, or their experiences define the architect? Because the professional studies architecture and its trends, the person reflects a way of understanding their environment, of knowing how to listen, or of adequately interpreting the elements that should shape their next project. So, how much of Jaime Salvá the person and how much of Jaime Salvá the architect are there in his creations?
Personal experience, living experiences, and seeing the world help you become more open-minded and understand that everything has many different points of view.
A: Personal experience, having experiences, and seeing the world help us to have a more open mind and understand that everything has many different points of view. Architecture is a very demanding profession, requiring a lot of passion to be able to face all the difficulties it entails, which makes it very difficult to separate the profession from the person. We are surrounded by architecture. And the challenges our projects pose keep us thinking about them constantly.
Q: What are Jaime Salvá’s next projects? What are you currently focused on?
A: We are primarily developing residential projects for foreigners, both single-family homes and multi-family buildings. Our scope of work ranges from exclusive urban areas with privileged views of the sea or the city, to rural settings where planning regulations impose a traditional style that deeply inspires us, resulting in unique projects with a distinct character.
We are focused on achieving a higher level of detail in each project, ensuring comprehensive control of the design from conception to final execution. We seek to merge exterior and interior architecture, creating cohesive and harmonious spaces that satisfy the needs and aesthetic tastes of our clients.
Q: The studio has opened its talent to the international market. Countries like Germany and even India are testament to the firm’s expertise. Do you think architecture should be reinterpreted based on the geographical location of each project? Or is it a universal language that barely needs to be adapted?
A: Each project is different. What can be universalized is the work process we have when approaching the design of a project, which stands out precisely for its adaptability to particular circumstances, among which the socio-cultural conditions of the geographical area in which it is located stand out.
I like to analyze how projects adapt to the climatic conditions of the countries in which they are located.
The projects we have designed in Germany and India have followed the same work process as those we do in Mallorca, starting with an in-depth analysis of the plot and its surroundings, the local planning regulations, and the specific needs of the clients.
I like to analyze how projects adapt to the climatic conditions of the countries in which they are located. There are areas where homes don’t have windows because they are hot and humid, or how in snowy areas, roofs have a significant slope.
Each project presents its uniqueness. However, the design process I use in all projects is the same, and it stands out precisely for its ability to adapt to specific circumstances, including the socio-cultural characteristics of the geographical environment. Whether we are working in Germany, India, or Mallorca, we follow a methodological approach that begins with a thorough analysis of the plot, its surroundings, and the relevant planning regulations, as well as the individual needs of our clients.
I like to analyze how other architects design their designs in response to their local climatic conditions and observe the differences with ours. For example, in hot and humid regions, homes may have no windows, while in snowy areas, roofs take on a pronounced slope. This meticulous attention to climatic details ensures that our creations are functional, aesthetic, and contextually appropriate in each location.