Louis Laplace
To the Argentinian architect Luis Laplace it is still difficult for him to describe Menorca. And that almost two decades ago that he began to frequent her, and that in recent years he visits her at least once a month. “Whenever I have to explain to my clients what the island is like, I realize how difficult it is ”. That is why he draws family similes: “Mallorca is the rich and lordly sister, the one who married well. Ibiza is the frivolous and reveler sister . So Menorca is the most romantic, dreamy and ecological . And sometimes something capricious. She's looking for something, but she's not sure what it is.
Knows the territory well for personal and professional reasons . The first led him to buy here together with her husband and her partner, Christophe Comoy, a residence in which to rest from the hustle and bustle of their Paris studio, where they reside. The latter have made him the author of one of the most ambitious and exciting architectural projects remembered on the island, the new headquarters of the Swiss (and international) art gallery Hauser & Wirth. For years he has been the chief architect of his owners, Ursula Hauser and her daughter and her son-in-law Manuela and Iwan Wirth , for whom he has designed private residences and also exhibition spaces in places like Somerset (UK) or the Swiss ski resorts of Gstaad and St. Moritz . Or, in our country, the very complex reform of Chillida Leku from the old Basque farmhouse that the sculptor acquired to transform it in his image and likeness.
Also in Menorca he has been in charge of reforming a building with a strong personality. Here he departed from an old 18th-century hospital on Isla del Rey, opposite the port of Mahón, which he is turning into a space to display art by the creators of the Hauser & Wirth list, such as Louise Bourgeois, Dan Graham or Jenny Holzer . In it he has invested months of design and work on site, and if the planning is fulfilled, the grand opening is not far away. “We plan to open it to the local public in early 2021, and to open it internationally a little later, throughout the year,” he explains. “ Although it is a private gallery, it is a very inclusive idea , which gives a lot to the community, and will also attract a group of very interesting people who will respect the sensitivity of the island and will also contribute a lot to it”.
This sensitivity, very attached to the earth although sometimes it is somewhat contradictory, it is precisely what continues to fascinate him. “It is true that sometimes you find it funny when you hear Menorcans complain about the number of people who arrive in summer, as if they had never crossed to Mallorca, much more crowded . And that is why it may seem that they live oblivious to current times. But actually that ecological concern of the Menorcans, the respect for their land, is something very much of this time”.
So is his democratic spirit: “ Here there is no preserve for the rich as you can find in Mallorca , which has its differentiated areas for the Germans, the English, the rich Spaniards... In the same cove in Menorca you find all kinds of people, because everyone is delighted to be with everyone”.
Louis Laplace
The superb Menorcan coves are, in fact, the main attraction for visitors, and he also participates in it, although not only in the summer months: "I like Menorca at all times of the year, but especially in winter, when meeting a solitude that reminds me of Punta del Este (on the coast of Uruguay) when I was a child. By that wind and that damp cold, and by the force of its nature . But it is also amazing in spring, when it is so green and full of fennel or crocus flowers and other wild flowers. Later, in summer, that green and those colors take on a more reddish hue.”
Here are some of his tips for getting the most out of a visit to Menorca at any time of the year. Even before his project was inaugurated for Hauser & Wirth.
RIDES
Of all the activities that the island offers, especially recommend walking . In particular, the well-known Camí des cavalls (“The Way of the Horses”), which allows you to travel from end to end along 185 kilometers . Of course, he leads by example: "One day last summer I ended up so exhausted from the walk and the heat that a Menorcan who saw me offered me water." That hospitality is part of the side he likes best about local traditions: “Here you find a kind of camaraderie that you don't see in other places anymore. It's something traditional, like from another era." Also it is possible to go out by boat with the Menorcan fishermen : “Fishing is another of the typical activities that I enjoy the most”.
TRADITIONS
Horses are the protagonists of another tradition, the jaleos of the patron saint festivities. The horsemen (caixers) make them jump through the streets to the rhythm of the music, and this aspect does pose certain dilemmas: “As I am not sure that the horse is very happy, I have mixed feelings, although I value them because they are traditions and I it seems important to conserve them, just like that, while they evolve. But I love to ride a horse That's why I like the strong equine culture here”.
RESTAURANTS
Among all the restaurants, it stands out Sa Llagosta, in Fornells , north of the island. His menu offers a wide variety of dishes based on local cuisine, but Luis advises us to try the dish that gives it its name: “ Their lobster casserole is the best in Menorca”.
In Mahon they are master (“excellent Menorcan and northern meat”) and Santa Rita (“a small but great place, where you have a mix of all kinds of food”). In Citadel it remains sa amarador : “The best paella you can eat in the port”. And in the middle of the field Sant Lluís, Bodegas Binifadet : “it is great to drink, but it is also wonderful to eat”.
HOTEL
Inside, in the small town of Ferreries (not far from Citadel), Ses Sucreres It is an ecological hotel that occupies a renovated building from the 19th century. White walls, tiled floors, simple decoration, not a trace of pretentiousness. “ It is a wonderful village hotel ”, Laplace defines it. Although, for those who fall in love with the island to the point that he prefers to own a house, Luis recommends contacting his friend Sofia Vallejo , from Maisonme real estate: “she knows the best secret properties, the ones that are not in the other agencies. Sofía was the one who really taught me Menorca”.
ANTIQUARIAN
The store that Laplace recommends to us is related to his profession as an architect and interior designer. The best decoration jewels await us on the road to Mahón, by the hand of Ivo Mercadal, owner of Antics Antiques (telephone: 626717161): “it's like a great market, but you have to call, because it only works by appointment”. Impossible to be more authentic, since Mercadal is basically nourished by original Menorcan objects recovered from old houses on the island.