Nadav Kander can’t stop thinking about work, not even while visiting his family retreat in a mellow corner of Ibiza. And fair enough: the famous photographer’s recent campaigns include a Fear of God and Adidas collaboration, a Peter Gabriel album cover, and promotional assets for The Crown. Projects bounce around in his head no matter where he is, he says. But the island home in Spain at least gives him a break from his start-stop lifestyle near London, allowing him to see ideas more clearly by finding some rhythm in the day to day.

Nadav and his wife have visited Ibiza regularly over the years, but only recently built a home to create a place they could come together with their three kids. The residence has room for the whole family. An interpretation of an Ibicenco—Ibiza’s version of a finca, a Spanish country home with Moorish origins—the property holds a series of five white cube-like volumes with a hallway connecting bedrooms and shared living spaces.

The residence isn’t entirely unlike Nadav’s photography. His work, whether a portrait of King Charles III hanging in London’s National Portrait Gallery, his award-winning landscapes, or transcendent fashion shoots and ad campaigns, has a rawness and creates a dialogue with its subject that only goes deeper the more you look. Similarly, the home, designed by architect Rolf Blakstad, who has an extensive knowledge of the Ibizan architectural tradition, is in conversation with the muted tones of its setting, and captures all the rustic appeal of the island’s building style with its thick, whitewashed walls and soft, organic edges.

“We wanted to take advantage of the site,” explains Blakstad, “which is on a beautiful hill overlooking the sea to the east, stone terraces to the south, and to the west, the Morna Valley, which offers sunset views over successions of distant hills.” Despite the picturesque sunsets, and perhaps more in keeping with Nadav’s quietly powerful, introspective art, the house is called Can Luna, which means “house of the moon” in Catalan. “On the best nights, we can sit on our patio and watch the moon rise right in front of us,” says Nadav.

Blakstad operates from the assumption that, for the most part, what worked in this environment hundreds of years ago still works today. “Traditional builders depended on their own ingenuity to design structures without the help of modern technology and we feel confident in following many of their choices,” he says. These largely have to do with keeping the home cool in the mediterranean climate: positioning building modules relative to the patterns of the sun, using extra thick walls and stone and tile floors, creating breeze-catching openings, and planning plenty of well-shaded outdoor spaces. As a result, Can Luna, while not entirely off-grid, is able to run basic household appliances, lighting, and the well-used overhead fans with solar power it generates.

For all its serenity, it’s hard to believe Can Luna is a mere half-hour drive to Ibiza’s infamous nightclubs. But as far as Nadav is concerned, he’s worlds away. “We didn’t come here for that,” he laughs. “The northeast is more the hippie side of Ibiza. Not part of ‘the scene.’”

Fresh off a work trip to Paris, Nadav talks with Dwell about the creation of his Ibicenco, how it was partly inspired by Mexican architect Luis Barrigan, and the meditative patterns he and his family fall into while there.

Dwell: How did you decide to build a home in Ibiza?

Nadav Kander: My wife and I have three kids. They’re all just lovely and it is our favorite thing to spend time with them. We decided to build on Ibiza when they were younger, thinking it was a place they’d still want to come after they’d grown up. They enjoy it as much as we do.

What was the initial brief to Rolf Blakstad?

I think I actually used the word “monastic.” I wanted it to be very simple, even stark. I had a very specific vision: I pictured just a bed and maybe a stool, with clothes tucked into a cupboard—a lack of clutter.

How did you choose a finca-style design as opposed to, say, a luxury beachfront home?

When we first came to Ibiza and explored the hills, we caught glimpses of the island's oldest farmhouses and were really struck by the sparse beauty of these cubist volumes, and by how practically suited they are to Ibiza’s climate and terrain. My wife and I are also longtime admirers of the Mexican architect Luis Barrigan, and we were really taken by the similarities between the kinds of adobe architecture that inspired him and the North African origins of the finca. Both are quite modern in their starkness, yet local, natural materials lend each a comfortable softness, which is very appealing.

How easy was it to construct this style in a more environmentally responsible way?

We are a bit regretful we didn’t know things during construction that we know now. Sustainable materials just keep getting better every day, which is a good thing. We wanted to be off-grid, but that didn’t quite work. Nonetheless, the traditional elements of the finca make it easy to be both comfortable and green. The walls are three-feet thick, which keep the whole house quite cool, especially in combination with our fans. It’s amazing how comfortable you can be with fans, even when it’s over 100 degrees outside.

There are also some very strict local guidelines, which dictated the style. We couldn’t do a two-story building, our ceiling height was restricted, and, because we are in the forest, we were only allowed to build a certain square footage. The full thickness of the walls are included in that calculation.

How is your life different here than it is in London?

I was not looking for a place to go to escape my working life. My work is in my head—I could never escape it, it’s always present, which I love. But daily life in London is necessarily fractured with interruptions and distractions. You are always having to react, and there’s no time to reflect. Here in Ibiza, you can involve yourself in a quieter routine: wake up at the same time every day, take on small productive tasks, ride your bike, choose a piece of fish at the market. You start to get into a rhythm.

Most of my art is very intuitive. I take pictures when I’m really drawn to something, and later look back to see what kind of self-portrait I’ve made. To do this work you need to allow your mind to calm enough that you can recharge and have the clarity to observe your work objectively. So, when I’m in Ibiza, I’m not getting away from it, I’m getting more into it. The quiet, simple life helps me to slow down and get to know my work.

The finca—known as an Ibicenco in Ibiza—is known for its simple cubic modules set along a main hall. At Nadav’s interpretation, Blakstad particularly likes the small variations in angle along the main axis of the house." layout="" credit="Photo by Mark Seelen" photoUserId="6650003199388606464"/>

As an artist, how did you think about how windows frame the landscape?

There are only two windows in the house, and the rest are doors. As we were toying with the lot, I looked through a book of old Middle Eastern architecture and saw that doors were always about a meter wide, or 80 centimeters. So, since we’d decided to do double doors, we went with 160 centimeters.

I dislike an entire wall with one big sliding square window; I prefer to enclose the view in a slightly smaller frame, so that the window is more like a picture hanging on a wall. Each image is more precious when you don’t see everything from every room. This way, we get to see something different through each window. From one, you see the branch of a pine tree, a single branch reaching out in front of the view, like a painting on a Japanese scroll. It feels very composed.

How did you select furniture that felt consistent with the architectural style?

We did not want anything to be too precious. We didn’t want to worry about it if someone spilled on a rug or broke a vase. We did ship in a beautiful old French table we’d had for years, and we have some midcentury Hans Wegner chairs we love. But in general, the less the better. In the sunken conversation room, we just put down some foam cushion and put sheets over it. That said, we splurged on mattresses for the bedrooms.

“Ibiza has its own unique architecture that has suited the island for centuries, and is better than any modern structure.”
—Nadav Kander, resident

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The kitchen is surprisingly sleek for the home. Can you tell us about it?

I’ve always wanted a Vipp kitchen. They’re very Danish: functional, practical, and stylish. Here, I love the contrast between the rounded corners of our plain whitewashed walls, and the modern, modular Vipp kitchen with its shiny silver and matte black surfaces. The lines are crisp without being too angled, and the pieces sit so beautifully, with a delicate lightness to them, like midcentury furniture. Really quite statuesque. The cooktop and counter has a clean look, but I also love its imperfections, the tarnish and scratches in the stainless steel. At first, I thought, Oh God, there’s the first scratch, but now I think it just gets better and better.

I love to cook when we’re in Ibiza, and the stainless steel counter is a pretty wonderful working surface. I often make fish, and can toss the flour right onto the stainless steel and dip the fish. The design and organization is terrific, with those soft-close drawers with a place for everything, a drawer with dividers where you put knives, a drawer of glass jars. One of the best things about the whole Vipp system is that there’s just a few very good options, which makes it so easy. I’m delighted, it’s a thing of beauty.

You say you love getting into a routine when you’re in Ibiza. What all does this include?

I usually get up after my wife and we are usually both pretty quiet for a few hours in the morning, until about ten. Then we’ll go to the market for veggies or fish or nuts, or we’ll head to a nearby farm, together or separately. If the kids are there with us, we’ll go out for dinner at one of the food shacks on the beaches.

I can’t just lie around and read—that’s not me at all. I’m usually tinkering, fixing a lamp, painting, cleaning out filters, repairing the solar, or turning the soil around the almond tree. I just love being busy. And doing some physical job like that is my perfect meditation. This is what I love about Ibiza, just going about my daily life.

What is local life like here?

Our favorite part of the local scene is the regenerative farm that is just down the road. It’s run entirely by volunteers, and we all spend time there, sometimes an hour, sometimes a whole afternoon or day. These are some terrific people, and it’s a wonderful feeling having a community working together to bring the earth to life. It’s a really remarkable place—we enjoy spending time there, and we certainly enjoy the seasonal fruits and vegetables.

What is your favorite spot in the home?

I’d have to say my bedroom, because it’s just so simple and beautiful. There are two woven lamps hanging from the ceiling, a beautiful mattress, and a view through the double doors. That’s all. It’s perfect. The view from the bath is also quite special. You look right into the forest, which is lovely right up until you see a snake in the undergrowth. We’ve got a real problem with snakes, which are an invasive species in Ibiza. We didn’t have any at all until they were introduced about ten years ago.

And the kitchen. I love the kitchen, to be cooking with an open bottle of wine, and that amazing view. We are on the saddle of a hill, so the view drops away right beyond our patio and there are terraces of trees overgrown into a big bowl and then it rises into a series of hills.

And then there’s really nothing better than sitting on that patio with my kids, playing rummy.

More My House:

My House: A Queens Couple Bring the Nightlife Home to Their Color-Changing Loft

My House: A Brooklyn Couple’s 1800s Townhome Melds Eras, Heirlooms, and Artwork

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Rolf Blakstad

Builder/General Contractor: Blakstad Builders

Structural/Civil Engineer: Marc Rodriguez Campillo

Landscape, Interior, and Lighting Design: Blakstad Design

Kitchen Design: Vipp Kitchens

Photographer: Mark Seelen / @mark_seelen

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