Fran Silvestre Folds 15-Centimeter Concrete Planes Down an Ibiza Hillside

A white concrete plane just 15 centimeters thick folds its way down an Ibiza hillside, doing the work of roofs, terraces, and shelter all at once. That slab is the defining gesture of Bellavista 11, a villa by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos in Roca Llisa, and the first completed residence in The Roca Views, a six-home development by the same studio.

The house doesn't fight the slope. It uses it. Three low volumes step down the site in a legible sequence: arrival and garage at the top, shared living spaces in the middle, five bedrooms below. The arrangement breaks what could have been one tall facade into layered horizontals that read as a rhythm rather than a wall.

What does the folded plane actually do?

Plenty, and that's the point. The 15-centimeter slab — roughly six inches — establishes roof terraces above the lower volumes and extends outward to shelter outdoor areas below. The geometry that gives the villa its identity also organizes daily life around sun, shade, and time outside. One plane, two jobs. Silvestre's office has built a career on this kind of restrained precision, and here the restraint is structural, not merely stylistic.

The central living level gathers kitchen, dining, and lounge beside the swimming pool. Full-height sliding glass doors run on slender frames and concealed tracks, keeping the threshold visually quiet. Open, the rooms spill onto terraces. Closed, they hold the sea view. Below, the bedroom volume faces its own outdoor seating area, so the quieter end of the house gets a private relationship with the landscape instead of an afterthought patio.

How does the interior soften the exterior?

Inside, the palette loosens up. White walls sit alongside natural stone flooring, oak, and stretched textile ceilings, as detailed by the developer. These surfaces give sunlight different textures to cross — warmth without a busy mix of finishes. The main bedroom extends outward onto a private terrace, with motorized curtains handling daylight and privacy on demand.

There's a practical counterpoint to all this apparent effortlessness. A house arranged down a slope means stairs, and lots of them, so the developer lists an elevator among the villa's features. It's a small admission that matters in a plan this aggressively stepped. Bellavista 11 is more interesting as a carefully organized hillside home than as a picture of minimalism alone.

The house works best when its sculptural clarity meets ordinary experience: arriving, descending, opening a door, finding shade by the pool. The white planes supply a consistent frame; the changing Mediterranean light and the distant sea supply the variation. That's the bargain — restraint gives the landscape room to stay the most compelling presence in the house, every day. With five more homes to come in The Roca Views, the development will test whether this descending formula survives repetition.