Cultural Renaissance

If you thought that Balearic style was all bleached rustic timber and sheer curtains wafting in the breeze, Tatjana von Stein’s scheme for Palma members’ club Làlia comes as something of a change of pace. Moody and theatrical, it may be hard to pinpoint its sense of place at first glance – yet within its walls, it teems with work from local artisans, complementing the restored historic architecture.

Von Stein says that the project came about out of sheer manifestation: “A great Spanish friend invited me to the island a few years ago and I fell in love with its topography and feeling. Weeks later, I received a phone call from an old friend whose in-laws were embarking on a new venture… and the rest is history.”

The building sits in Palma’s Old Town, its four storeys containing spaces for meeting, working, eating and drinking, plus a boutique gym and art spaces. It has been fully restored by local practice Gras Reynès Arquitectos, which preserved and restored existing features such as tiled floors, fireplaces, carpentry and ironmongery. The traditional tiled floors have been juxtaposed with more unexpected surface finishes by von Stein, such as leopard-print floors and checkerboard ceilings.

Private areas are arranged around a patio on the ground floor, while the first floor serves as the main club area, with a suite of interconnected rooms overlooking the plaza outside. Enfilades offer views all the way through, but there is a subtly changing palette, with each room separated from the next by lushly draped curtains, inviting a sense of discovery.

Asked what holds all the different spaces together von Stein says that “a narrative is key in all our work – in this case, it was the glamorous uncle in town; 60% of the members are Spanish but there is still a distinctly international audience. It’s a social hub for people around the island to work and play in.”

She explains how the interiors are inspired by the Mallorcan capital itself. “Considering the Balearic pared-back trend, it felt natural to bring to life some of the more indulgent, opulent parts of Palma – the old town – with an elegant base throughout. Each room brings this to life, from morning to evening, with a slightly different touch to allow for an ongoing discovery.

“For a members’ club, I think it’s particularly important to create an ongoing interest, allowing for flexibility of spaces which double up from a meeting room to a private dining room, for instance. But, in the end, you roll from one space to another, with the church bells in the background.”

Most of the project is bespoke, with everything from fitted furniture to ceramics made locally. “It was wonderful to tap into the island’s materiality – from the mountain stones, fabrics made locally by old ladies, restoring tiles from the building and reinventing them into a new contemporary style,” says von Stein. “We made a conscious effort to source 80% of the fabrics and materials if not locally at least from Spain, sprinkled with antiques sourced from Italy at its furthest point.”

Làlia’s bathrooms feature basins carved from local Binissalem stone, while ceilings and banquettes are draped in local fabrics from the artisanal Textil Bujosa, a third-generation family business. Mallorcan contemporary furniture brand La Percera made the stools, and the hand-carved stone bench in the garden was made to von Stein’s specification by artist and stonemason Diego Sanchez Barcelo.

Von Stein says that she “adored every moment” of discovering and working with local creatives. “Needless to say, working on an island is not a ride in the park, but with every project and every artisan I work with I only learn more about form and materiality. Sometimes the most challenging projects become passion projects.”