Can Lis, Jørn Utzon is a visual ode to one of the 20th century's most iconic private residences — a Mallorcan cliff house built from local marés stone that became Utzon's sanctuary and an enduring model of place-responsive design.
About This Book
Perched on a cliff on the island of Mallorca, Can Lis stands as one of architecture's most quietly radical statements: a home so embedded in its site it is nearly absorbed by it. Published by Apartamento, this book traces the house through Simon Watson's photographs of light moving across its stone compound, alongside archival sketches and blueprints drawn from Utzon's private collection. A seminal essay by Utzon himself frames his philosophy of nature and dwelling, while his son Jan Utzon reflects on the family's relationship to Mallorca in conversation with Apartamento editorial director Robbie Whitehead. For anyone seriously engaged with vernacular architecture, regionalism, or the domestic work of the 20th century's great modernists, this is an essential document.
Key Features
- 120 pages of contemporary photography by Simon Watson alongside archival sketches, blueprints, and private collection materials
- Essay by Jørn Utzon; conversation between Jan Utzon and Robbie Whitehead; reflection by Line Nørskov Davenport, director of exhibitions at the Utzon Center
- Published by Apartamento, ISBN 9788409689934
What You'll Discover
- How Utzon used local marés stone to dissolve the boundary between built form and Mallorcan landscape — an early and lucid argument for material regionalism
- The movement of Mediterranean light through the compound, documented by Simon Watson's photography as a form of spatial analysis in its own right
- The domestic and personal life of the house — Can Lis as family home for over two decades, first inhabited after Utzon's departure from the Sydney Opera House
- Utzon's own written account of his relationship to nature, read alongside archival drawings that trace the project from initial sketch to inhabited reality
About the Author
[Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 120
- Dimensions: 240 x 285mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9788409689934
- Publisher: Apartamento
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and designers drawn to place-based and vernacular approaches, students of modernist domestic architecture, and anyone with a serious interest in the life and work of Jørn Utzon beyond the Sydney Opera House.