London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

A Pair of Pink and Purple Tiny Houses Take Root in an Idyllic Olive Grove

A Pair of Pink and Purple Tiny Houses Take Root in an Idyllic Olive Grove

Mar Plus Ask designs two dreamy homes that take cues from the storied olive trees on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

For architects Mar Vicens Fuster and Ask Anker Aistrup of Mar Plus Ask, the natural and built landscape is the starting point for any design. "We like intimate spaces that have measured openings to the surroundings, that sculpt [and incorporate] natural light, and that use natural, sensorial materials," Aistrup says.

The architects consider the landscape and then make design choices to weave each building into its context, so that it appears to have always existed on the site. They use local, organic materials that reflect and absorb sunlight, facilitating shadow and light play. "Each piece of architecture will be different if your starting point is the context," Aistrup says. "We study the history, the placement, the vegetation, and the setting sun, so that a building can belong."



The walls, floor, and ceiling of one of the Olive Houses is enveloped in a pale pink tone-the color found on the leaves of the olive trees that dot the landscape.



The bedroom area in the pink house is framed by an arch opening.

Mar Plus Ask’s Olive Houses-a set of micro homes that function as a year-round retreat for architects, artists, and writers in Mallorca, Spain-are no exception. The tiny, 260-square-foot homes aren’t just tied to the natural landscape-they look like they’re part of it.

"High up in the Tramuntana Mountains with views overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the off-grid houses are surrounded in all directions by thousand-year-old olive trees that stand on man-made terraces of dry stacked stone, where only the wind and bells tied to grazing sheep can be heard," Aistrup says.



A fireplace near the bedroom area provides warmth during the winter months.



A massive existing rock formation is embedded into the design, anchoring one corner of the tiny home and tying it to nature.



An outdoor shower built into the stone is located at the rear of the tiny house.

The purple house is wrapped in stucco and equipped with a bathroom, a kitchen with two gas burners, a sink, a wood-fired oven, a table with stools, and a refrigerator powered by solar panels. The pink house, also sided with stucco, features a bed, a shower, and a fireplace.

"We reused an old stone structure for the purple house, which is the complimentary color to the dark side of an olive tree leaf," Fuster says. "Using the existing structure meant that only one new structure was needed."

They built the new pink house into existing terraces, so that it’s practically invisible and partially underground. "Some of the terraces, and most of the olive trees here are over a thousand years old," Fuster says. "The terraces are cut into the hillsides in straight lines with mathematical precision, seemingly unaffected by sharp corners and gorges. Even with today’s machinery, it seems impossible."



A second tiny house is set within an existing structure and contains a kitchen, dining area, and bathroom.



The teak front door of the existing house offsets the stone walls, lending warmth and texture.

At one end of the pink house, a vaulted ceiling dissolves into a large skylight. Beneath the skylight is a shower beside an existing rock formation that the architects incorporated as part of the design.

"When looking at nearby houses, we saw that some were built into sloped mountainsides," Fuster says. "This appealed to us as a [way] to keep the house cool in the summer, but also as a spatial idea. A home that’s half underground and has an open fireplace is somewhat reminiscent of the oldest archetype of man’s first home, a cave."

Water for the shower is provided via a natural spring behind the house, and the building’s pink tone represents the lighter shade found on the matte side of an olive-tree leaf. "Pink covers the walls, floors, and ceilings," Fuster says. "When looking into the landscape, the complementary colors of the olive trees provide an optic effect which becomes more defined, vivid and crisp."



Purple walls contrast with stone masonry and introduce a modern sensibility.



The purple shade on the existing home’s interior walls is another color found on the leaves of the olive trees that grow on the site.



The kitchen window frames views of old-growth olive trees and massive boulders.

The area, rich with olive trees, massive boulders, and views of the Tramuntana Mountains and Mediterranean Sea, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

"It’s a response to scarcity rather than excess," Aistrup says. "We normally lay out some basic dogmas, and in this case, the first was obvious—we would not touch or cut any olive trees or move any rocks. The Olive Houses blend seamlessly and sensitively into this magical setting. A house not only serves its inhabitants, it belongs and contributes to the city, street, or landscape as a whole."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×