A long and painstaking rehabilitation project in Sa Penya has received recognition for bringing nine historic homes back to life while preserving the architectural character of one of Ibiza's most distinctive neighbourhoods.

Estudio Kismet has been awarded the Best Residential Project at the first Suministros Ibiza Architecture and Construction Awards for its work on the nine properties.

The project, promoted by Giancarlo Canavesio, began in 2017 and involved years of planning, heritage approvals and construction in an exceptionally challenging part of Ibiza's historic centre.

A Project That Began in 2017

The work started with nine homes that were in very poor condition.

According to architect Noemí Rodríguez Gómez of Estudio Kismet, the properties presented extensive deterioration, including accumulated waste, damp, leaks and years without proper maintenance. Some of the homes were also occupied when the team first needed to enter and survey them.

Rather than applying a single solution to all nine properties, the architects found that each required a different combination of renovation, rehabilitation, restructuring and, in some cases, extension.

The project eventually developed into a coordinated intervention covering nine different homes while respecting the individual characteristics of each building.

Years of Planning and Heritage Approvals

The location created significant additional challenges.

The properties sit within the PEPRI protected area of Ibiza's historic centre, meaning the work had to take account of heritage requirements and the historic character of Sa Penya.

The team had to process seven urban-planning licences, with interventions requiring consideration by the relevant heritage authorities.

The planning and approval phase took several years. Construction began in 2021 and continued until 2025.

That meant the overall project stretched across approximately eight years from the initial work in 2017 to the completion of the building works.

Working With Historic Structures

One of the biggest challenges was dealing with buildings whose real condition could not always be understood until work began.

The architects encountered historic stone walls, deteriorated timber structures and cisterns that had not been expected.

Some of the original stone walls were between approximately 60 and 70 centimetres thick.

In places, the decision was made to leave the stone exposed rather than conceal it behind new finishes.

The project also sought to retain the material character of the original architecture while introducing the technical standards and comforts required of contemporary homes.

Rebuilding Timber Structures

The condition of the original timber structures presented another major challenge.

The team initially hoped to retain as much of the historic wood as possible. However, years of water infiltration, inadequate waterproofing and damage caused by wood-boring insects meant that some of the existing floors could not be preserved.

They were reconstructed using a combination of laminated timber beams, natural timber beams and three-layer timber panels.

Steel structures and reinforced concrete were also introduced where technically necessary.

The approach was not to reproduce the old buildings exactly, but to retain their material logic and character while making the homes suitable for modern use.

Preserving the Character of Sa Penya

The architects retained important elements of the original buildings, including their individual layouts, façades, roof forms, openings, stone walls and cisterns.

The nine homes are not identical.

Some have one floor, while others extend over two or three levels. Some have flat roofs and others retain pitched tiled roofs.

The roofs were particularly important because they form part of the visual character of Sa Penya when viewed from Dalt Vila and the city walls.

The common design language includes white façades, timber windows, black-painted metal elements, natural materials, ceramic and stone finishes, exposed stone and lime-based mortars.

Construction Had to Be Done by Hand

The narrow streets and difficult access to Sa Penya had a major effect on how the construction could be carried out.

Large construction vehicles and machinery could not operate in the same way they would on a conventional building site.

Materials had to be transported through restricted access routes, while much of the work was carried out manually.

Even moving structural timber and removing construction waste required different solutions from those used on a normal residential development.

The difficult conditions gave parts of the project an almost artisanal character.

Archaeology Became Part of the Process

The historic nature of the buildings also meant that construction could uncover elements that were not visible in the original plans.

Several cisterns were discovered during the works.

These discoveries had to be documented and studied with archaeologists as part of the appropriate heritage process.

The project therefore combined architectural rehabilitation with structural, archaeological and conservation work.

Recognised as Ibiza's Best Residential Project

The completed intervention received the Best Residential Project award at the first Suministros Ibiza Architecture and Construction Awards.

The awards recognise projects developed in Ibiza and Formentera across residential architecture, interior design and hospitality.

Estudio Kismet's project was selected in the residential category for the rehabilitation of the nine homes in Sa Penya.

The award was presented in September at the Club Diario de Ibiza, with representatives from the architecture, construction and interior-design sectors attending the ceremony.

The jury included representatives from the Colegio de Arquitectos de Ibiza y Formentera, the Colegio de Aparejadores de Ibiza y Formentera, Suministros Ibiza and the Consell d'Eivissa.

Part of a Wider Transformation

The rehabilitation of these nine homes forms part of a much broader and longer transformation of Sa Penya.

The neighbourhood has experienced decades of social, housing and urban challenges, alongside significant public and private efforts to rehabilitate buildings and improve living conditions.

The private Estudio Kismet project should therefore be seen as one contribution to that wider process rather than as a standalone solution to the neighbourhood's problems.

What makes the project particularly notable is the combination of rehabilitation and conservation: buildings that had suffered years of deterioration were brought back into use without simply erasing the historic fabric that makes Sa Penya distinctive.

Giving Historic Homes a New Life

The project demonstrates the complexity of working with Ibiza's existing housing stock, particularly in protected historic areas.

Instead of replacing the buildings with new construction, the architects worked with what was already there, adapting different historic structures to contemporary residential use while retaining stone, timber, traditional materials and the individual character of the properties.

After years of planning and construction, the nine homes now stand as an example of how careful rehabilitation can contribute to the recovery of existing housing and the architectural identity of an historic Ibiza neighbourhood.

For Estudio Kismet, the award recognises not only the finished homes but the lengthy collaborative process behind them, involving architects, the developer, construction professionals, interior designers, archaeologists and other specialists.