The Ses Veles public development offering living units to be rented out at affordable prices – located in Puigpunyent, in the Majorcan comarca of Sierra de Tramontana – is a project of the Balearic Housing Institute (IBAVI) that vouches for architecture rooted in local culture. Thought up with a focus on circular and sustainably economy, it brings traditional crafts, vernacular construction techniques, and passive strategies adapted to the insular climate back to the forefront.

The building rises two levels under a gabled roof and offers six apartments: four on the ground floor, each containing one bedroom and a private patio, and two upstairs, with two bedrooms and a terrace. The layouts are flexible and functional, organized around three structural bays, with the kitchen as central space,

The materials are locally sourced. The cyclopean facades are of lime and soil from the excavation of the site, and partitions of ceramic tiles crafted on the island and filled with residual sand from the quarry and clad with clay and straw. The woodwork in slabs and joineries is made of FSC-certificed wood.

The design incorporates cross ventilation, solar shading, high thermal inertial, and hygroscopic control, besides a Trombe-type roof that captures heat in winter and is ventilated in summer. The entire construction system allows for easy dismantling and reuse of materials.