Landscape Diaries: A Spanish Castle Gets a Makeover

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Come with us on a tour of the grounds of Castillo de Peratallada, a 10th-century castle restored by architecture studio Mesura.

The castle entrance is a full two meters below the street, so Mesura joined the two levels with a series of tiered patios.

“A beautiful hundred-year-old acacia stands up as the counterpoint to the horizontal characteristic of the project,” say the architects.

The patios are made of Turkish white travertine marble, reclaimed from a project in the nearby village of Girona.

Using the reclaimed stone forced the architects to enact a difficult carving-up procedure.

Mesura mapped a complicated arrangement of eight different pattern blocks of smaller rectangles and squares.

An outdoor shower made of the same marble has grooves and a drain cut using CNC technology.

Mesura added benches, low walls, and a wet bar of colorless micro concrete with subtle wood-grain details.

Accent lighting and electrical outlets are built into the concrete furniture.

Peratallada is reached by driving along a winding, tree-lined road off the highway.

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