Mills Museum
- First Prize in Public Competition and commissioning to develop the project.
- First Prize at the Mallorca Architectural Awards 2002-2003.
- Finalist at the IV Bienal Iberoamericana of Lima (Perú), October 2004.
- Finalist at the Mies Van der Rohe Awards 2005.
- Grand Award for the Best Work in Architecture at the 2008 Summer Show of the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
The Jonquet is an old miner’s neighbourhood in the city of Palma.
The old flour windmill is turned into an exhibition centre to cover the history of the mills of Mallorca, and at the same time, it is a place of encounter for those interested in research on this theme. The public space in front of the building’s main entrance has been organized as a square, and an old water depot has been transformed into a bar and tickets office. This space ends the promenade along the Jonquet’s cornice, at Palma Bay. The accessible roof terrace of the building offers a second public square. The scale and dimensions of these two places are in proportion to those of the neighbourhood.
The museum itself looks for the maximum development of the plan. Working with the diverse existing holes, former windows, doors and chimneys, the project explores how to shape the different light entrances and shelves for exhibiting objects.
The light is what marks the rhythm of the new museum, which avoids inserting divisions in the inner space. Thus, the controlled light focused on concentrated displays guide the sequence of the exhibition. To control the entrance of light from the bright exterior to the semi-dark interior, a series of chambers have been produced by modifying existing holes. This is achieved by extending the proportions of these holes, or by moving the entrance of light from its initial position. The light is kept tight against the walls, trapped in these new exhibiting volumes. The stone vaults are perceived complete in the four naves, illuminated by a reflected light. The work in the enclosing walls has been done by keeping in mind their inner side, the outer one as well as their thickness. Thus, each hole has an effect towards the interior (screens and pedestals), and towards the exterior (benches, trees and steps), allowing playground situations around them.
| Programme: | Rehabilitation of a XVIIC flourmill as the Museum of the Mills of the Balearic Islands, with the conditioning of the surrounding public spaces |
| Promoter: | Palma de Mallorca City Council, The Mills Association of Mallorca |
| Architects: | Flores & Prats Archs, Ricardo Flores and Eva Prats |
| Structural Adviser: | Manuel Arguijo |
| Collaborators: | Ma. José Duch, Francisco Piza, Paola Vallini, Frank Stahl, Érica Checcucci, Armin Schmidt, Soledad Revuelto, Fabián Asunción, Cristina Treviño, Merlin Ellis, Ankur Jain, Michella Mezzavilla, Cristian Zanoni, Ma. Eugenia Troncoso |
| Photography: | Giovanni Zanzi, Hisao Suzuki, Duccio Malagamba |
| Situation: | Es Jonquet, Palma de Mallorca |
| Area: | 700 m_ (225 int. sqm + 475 ext. sqm) |
| Budget: | 360,607 € |
| Date of the Project: | 1997-1998 |
| Date of Construction: | March 1999 – May 2002 |
