Luxury property development long ago made its first moves from a world of pure construction or shelter into the world of art. Think of emblematic examples like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater or Norman Foster’s La Voile House. From the pioneers who, beginning at the end of the 19th Century and inspired by Modernism, came to understand architecture as the total art package, to revolutionary calls to treat certain residential projects like art collections, the design of private homes has become a creative opportunity with an important niche in the holiday and second homes market.
With an eye for the trends we find interesting and inspiring, Arum has, in recent years, for example, closely followed the work of Parisian gallery owners Eva Albarrán and Christian Bourdais. Their innovative project, Solo Houses in Matarraña (Teruel), is a set of residences and villas designed, since inception, to be “the first architecture collection in Europe” that seeks to create an experience (both touristic and private) in which the architecture is in constant communication with the landscape. With the participation of international studios like Pezo Von Ellrichshausen (Chile), Ofce KGDVS (Belgium), Barozzi/Veiga (Barcelona), TNA (Japan) and Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico), this collection is being created with the explicit intention, according to Bourdais in the newspaper El Economista, to recruit the winners of “future Pritzker architecture prizes.”
Conceiving spaces as part of the experience, melding them with nature and attending to the Earth’s demands are part of the core of this innovative concept designed to appeal to audiences at the highest sociocultural levels. Fans of the project will be those who want to integrate into, experience, and enjoy living in a work of art.
Because architecture has become a key attractive force and part of the fundamental value of exclusive real estate assets, Arum’s luxury property development projects in both greenfield resorts and consolidated destinations have been meticulous in their choices of architects. The objective is to choose firms willing to work with long-term commitment that are the best fit for the residential projects and their lifestyle and design philosophies. This means not only seeking talented architects that are ambitious and forward-thinking, but also sustaining creativity by choosing studios that are local to the projects. This is the case of our latest collaboration at the well-established La Manga Club resort, where our luxury property development almost always employs signature architecture from Murcia firms. The El Boulevard collection of commercial properties and residences is being led from an innovative perspective by Carlos Javier Martínez Ruiz, Ignacio García-Martos, and Rafael Amat Tudurí.
Where strategy merges with long-term sustainability, it produces a paradigm shift that demands extensive support. Great marketing and brand management efforts are required at national and international levels to communicate the value of the work being done, and this work must be presented with a level of quality that resonates with the target audience. One of our more stimulating recent projects was the creation of the exquisite Abama Architecture & Lifestyle book for the Abama Resort in Tenerife. This celebration of the artistry, creativity and professional excellence behind the resort’s most stunning residences includes more than 200 images by prizewinning London photographer Marc Goodwin of the exclusive homes and natural paradise that make this destination unique.
An art object in itself, the Abama Architecture & Lifestyle book, edited by Cristina Hernández Johansson and designed by Raúl García, now occupies the shelves of contemporary spaces like the Tenerife Art Space (TEA), the Luzio Gallery in Barcelona, the Cube magazine online store in Germany, and Eurogolf in Luxembourg. Among the incredible properties featured on its pages are the prizewinning Bellevue residences, designed by Virgilio Gutiérrez Herreros and Eustaquio Martínez; Las Terrazas and Los Jardines de Abama Suites by Coderch Urbanismo y Arquitectura; the Las Atalayas villas from Corona-Amaral Arquitectura; the incredible private villas of Leonardo Omar and EVMred Arquitectos; and interiors by Rita Rosés.
A tool for transforming environments and lives, the idea of luxury property development as art is, for Arum, not only the best long-term investment but also an opportunity to attract and support creative talent, leaving a utilitarian conception of the property developer behind to embrace higher values like beauty, sustainability, and art.
