history

The case of Mas Garba is particularly interesting and attractive. Located in the heart of the Costa Brava, at the foot of the Sierra de les Gavarres, this exceptional building is located in the small and modest inland town of Vall-llobrega, right in the middle of this international quality touristic boom that in the decade of the 60s gave European and international fame to Palamós, Calella and Llafranc. 

 

Famous politicians and intellectuals, writers, musicians, and actors illuminated their hotels or private residences, and among them, was Mas Garba. In 1951 Pepe Pratmarsó, as his friends and acquaintances knew him, participated in the founding of the R group that renews modern Catalan architecture by merging traditional architecture with the new language. Mas Garba and the neighboring Mas Vidal (1959), are clear examples of this exceptional architecture.

 

It is an isolated single-family house located in a rural estate with a steep slope, with unique views, surrounded by pine trees. To resolve the unevenness, as usual, it was necessary to prepare a platform with stone walls on which the most important part of the house rests, while the rest adapts to the slope of the hill. The living area rests directly on the platform and the bedrooms are raised one floor, creating a large porch accessible from the pool. As the slope is very steep, the unevenness is used to place the garage under the house. Behind these volumes are the service area, the guest area, and the guardian's house, arranged in such a way that the house integrates perfectly with nature. 

 

Also noteworthy is the outdoor pavilion or changing room, next to the pool, as if it were a walkable sculpture. In the volumetry, there are some compositional elements that continue with the experience of the neighboring Mas Vidal house, by the same architect, such as the cut-out terraces in the building, the porches with very fine square pillars, and the dynamic arrangement of the windows on the facades. The sloping roofs are made of Arabic tiles and show Pratmarsó's acceptance of the regional reality. The interior is of a masterful simplicity and typical of modern language, highlighting the balance in the combination of pinewood and the own plaster finish of the walls and work shelves.

 

At Mas Garba one lives and enjoys the extreme sensitivity of the architecture of Pepe Pratmarsó, that Mediterranean dandy who is also remembered for his friendship with Romy Schneider, and who ended up finding his natural habitat in these extraordinary places of the Empordanet.