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DIE ARCHITECTURE
Can Axartell is one of the most modern and innovative estates on the island. From the beginning, the goal has been to flow the house's core philosophy into the very way its buildings are designed and built. The new bodega, for example, is embedded seamlessly into its surroundings, with world-class energy efficiency and an infrastructure for processing grapes as gently as possible to preserve even the most delicate of aromas. Each of these three aspects was implemented through a very long and thorough planning phase followed by a surprisingly quick two-year construction phase.
The original plans for the building came from Catalonian architect Sergi Bastidas. He was responsible for the rehabilitation of the old farm building. Yet it soon became clear that the plans for the Mètode Gravetat as the heart of the estate would require a specialist. That work fell to José Hidalgo Togores. The agricultural engineer and oenologist is a famed presence on the Spanish winemaking scene. He is a consultant, professor and editor of the two-volume standard work Tratado de Viticultura, first compiled by his father Luís Hidalgo Fernández-Cano. Together with oenologist Ana Martìn, he began consulting for Can Axartell as well. As a specialist in the gentle processing of grapes and wine, he refined the core plans for a gravity-based production.
German-born/Mallorca-based architect Bernd Schmahl then received the commission to design the bodega based on the underlying Mètode Gravetat concept; it would be an architectonic work of art, incorporating and harmonizing the various practical and aesthetic desires of the owners as well as the technical requirements posed by Pollença’s municipal architecture office. Civil engineer Juan Artigues was responsible for on-site management of construction. One of the major challenges he faced was acquiring a construction permit in the first place; the site is part of the Tramuntana, which has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UN. The rules are strict and many for new buildings here, and rightly so. Too much construction in recent years has made no contribution to preserving or enhancing the island's landscape. A clever solution was ultimately found, however: the bodega was constructed within the confines of the quarry, integrated to be barely visible against the landscape. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but here it proved a bringer of good fortune as well. Because the temperatures inside the bodega remain constant and low, no additional cooling of the wines is required — even at the height of summer.