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In 2018, Pau Munar and Victoria Rodriguez bought a 5,000-square-foot plot near the beach in Son Serra de Marina, a quiet town on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. Pau, who cofounded local architecture practice Munarq, designed a lumi-nous base there for week-end surfing excursions for the couple. The home, dubbed Son Serra, is clad in marés,a local sand-stone, with traditional lime cement grout.

Heat-treated pine keeps things cozy throughout the open-plan living/kitchen area and lofted study, as well as in the bedroom.

Link Farm House by Slade Architecture

The home's two volumes are distinct not only in their orientation, but also in their materiality. The lower level is wrapped in stone, while the upper level is composed of glass.

A dramatic cantilevered roof extends over the lower building volume, tying together the separate, yet connected, blocks of the home.

A covered outdoor walkway connects the three upstairs bedrooms and overlooks views of the courtyard.

A 100-foot-long glass wall opens the view up to views of the bay.

Lake/Front view showing living room windows surround.

View from outdoor porch by Low Design Office

Writer Marc Kristal described the house as "a lapidary example of Miesian simplicity: a 25-by-95-foot rectangle, composed of a black exposed-steel frame, front and northern elevations clad largely in white glazed brick, and southern and western exposures enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass sliders."

Lush greenery surrounds Casa Terra to make the building feel like an extension of the landscape.

Generous balconies reach back into the surrounding forest at every level.

"Sometimes, contemporary tropical design is either too clinical, too rustic, or simply unoriginal. We are trying to find ways of interfering within the natural landscape responsibly, and reducing energy consumption through natural ventilation," explains Saxe.

The elegant retreat combines contemplative spaces with a sense of drama.

The upper volume—where the garage, kitchen, service areas, two bathrooms, and a patio are located—is a half-submerged body of stone set within the upper section of the slope.

"We didn't realize the exterior was straight-grain redwood," says Craig Bassam of the house he shares with Scott Fellows. "It was covered in layers of gray paint." Bassam replaced the terrace's concrete pavers with bluestone and removed a concrete-block wall.