Craggy boulders jut through walls in these off-grid guesthouses that architecture studio Mar Plus Ask has built in Mallorca, Spain, for creatives in need of a quiet escape.
Tucked away high up in Mallorca's Tramuntana mountains, The Olive Houses are run year-round by Mar Plus Ask as a silent refuge where solo architects, writers and artists can stay free from interruption.

The pair of off-grid houses are enclosed by a dense grove of thousand-year-old olive trees, which at points is interrupted by huge boulders resembling "natural monumental sculptures".
Keen to leave this rugged terrain largely untouched, Mar Plus Ask set about designing two modest structures ? one that accommodates sleeping quarters, the other cooking facilities ? that look like homes in the surrounding landscape.
"Our first reaction was that only if we could come up with something that would add something in a respectful and beautiful way, would we ever consider building," explained the studio, which is led by Mar Vicens and Ask Anker Aistrup.
"However, it was calming that the functions we were looking to build wouldn't be much different than those of the existing structures found in the area."

One of the houses is partially embedded into an existing stone terrace, which the studio hopes will help the structure keep cool during the warm summer months.
A sliding teakwood door can be pushed back to reveal a grand arched entrance. Inside, the house has a series of smooth, slo...