OLIVE PRESS
The
MALLORCA
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Your expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 7 Issue 177 www.theolivepress.es March 22nd - April 4th 2024
Property S
DON’T MISS OUR PROPERTY MAGAZINE INSIDE
pro pa in in per ’s b En ty es glis ma t h g
www.theolivepress.es
March 2024
STUDY PAVILION, TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF BRAUNSCHWEIG
COLEGIO REGGIO
Madrid
Architects: Andres Jaque/Office for Political Innovation, Madrid
Braunschweig, Germany Architects: Gustav Düsing, Berlin, and Max Hacke, Berlin
What the architects say: “The design, construction and use of the Reggio School is intended to exceed the paradigm of sustainability to engage with ecology as an approach where environmental impact, more-than human alliances, material mobilisation, collective governance and pedagogies intersect through architecture.”
What the architects say: “The new build Study-Pavilion on the grounds of the Technical University of Braunschweig is an open space concept designed to accommodate various student activities. The concept follows the principle of a superstructure which allows the user to change and re-configure the layout of the building in order to meet the ever-changing requirements in a fast-developing campus. Through high flexibility in layout, the Pavilion becomes ephemeral and thus responsive, ensuring a long-lasting relevance as a new type of campus building.”
From the architect’s mouth S PAIN has two incredible properties on the shortlist for the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award for 2024. Handed out every two years by the European Commission and the Fundacio Mies van der Rohe, it
recognises ‘excellence in contemporary design, sustainability, and innovation’. The seven nominated projects come from Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland, France and Norway. The winners will be announced on
April 25 in Brussels, with awards handed out at a ceremony on May 14 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona. Here we take a look at the finalists and what they have to say about their projects…
The Olive Press brings you the seven finalists for the Mies van der Rohe architecture awards and what they have to say about their projects
Continues on page 8
PLATO CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY
Ostrava, Czech Republic
Architects: KWK Promes, Katowice, Poland
What the architects say: “By saving a historic building and turning it into an art gallery, we have introduced a solution that makes art more democratic. By rotating the walls in an un-
usual way, it goes outside the building. We also transformed the space around the gallery, which had previously been contaminated, into a biodiverse park for the benefit of residents.”
Don’t rule them out!
CREDIT: Andy Price Flickr
BRITS are still the most significant foreign buyers in Spain’s property sector. Despite Brexit and only being able to visit for three out of six months, they still make up 15.5% of foreign mortgage applications. Only the Germans come close, making up second place with 14.1% in 2023. Swiss applicants account for 9% of the market, Americans (8.9%) and the French (7.8%).
PALMA is gearing up for its Easter week celebrations. Parades and processions take over almost every town on the island. While there are processions from Monday on, Maundy Thursday, March 28, kicks off Easter weekend, and the ‘Crist de la Sang’ procession draws large crowds. This sees men from the cofradias or brotherhoods dressed in robes and conical hoods, walking slowly and solemnly through the streets carrying large tronos of icons. Palma’s Good Friday re-enactment of the Passion of the Christ is a powerful scene,
GAME OF TRONOS: Spaniards carry huge thrones at Easter parades
POLICE are investigating if a man arrested during a mammoth anti-cocaine operation laundered cash through Real Aviles football club. Officers claim that Carlos Cortes known as El Charly met with the current president of the Asturian team, Diego Baeza multiple times and are suspicious that it was ‘a possible money laundering operation’. The president of Real Avilés , who has not been investigated or arrested by the Civil Guard, has since distanced himself from ‘El Charly’s business. The news came after Guardia Civil dismantled a major international group of cocaine traffickers who created a network to send consignments to Mallorca. Operation Checkmate has seen the arrest of 74 people - Spanish and Colombian - over three phases including El Charly, who is the president of the Federation of Balearic Islands Gypsy Associations. The latest bunch of arrests took place when Guardia officers raided 60 addresses in Mallorca and 11 in the Valencia area. The Guardia said it was one of the biggest-ever drug raids in the Balearic Islands. Some 39 people were detained, with several kilos of hashish, marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth seized and eight marijuana farms dismantled. Fifteen high-end vehicles, €220,000 in cash, two handguns and a shotgun were seized, with 100 bank accounts and 32 properties valued at more than €7 million impounded. One of those arrested - and subsequently bailed last weekend - was Joaquin Fernandez, who has become well-known through the reality TV series, Gypsy Kings.
whose average household incomes are €9,527 and €9,097 per month, look for the most expensive homes averaging around €250,000. The report by web portal Idealista notes that the Costa Blanca and wider Valencian Community is by far the most popular location
for property purchases at 27%. Remarkably, Catalunya and Andalucia rank at 16.4% of property purchases each. The study discovered the average mortgage applicant was 41 years old with a household income of €5,900 per month. The average purchase is a prop-
erty of €213,000, notably 20% higher than Spain’s national average. The report further highlights the disparity in financial firepower between foreign and local buyers. Foreign applicants boast incomes nearly 85% above the Spanish average, aiming for properties that
far exceed the financial reach of their local counterparts. Homes bought by foreigners are on average 27% more expensive than those bought by Spaniards. Interestingly, the financial commitment of international buyers is relatively modest. On average, they finance 61% of their purchase and they prefer fixed-rate mortgages, which account for nearly 70% of the transactions in 2023.
remembering each station of Jesus’ journey to the cross at the Cathedral at noon. Easter Sunday is a day for family and friends in Mallorca, with many shops and some restaurants and cafes closed for the day to celebrate. Churches fill up early, and the ‘Procession of the Meeting’ is traditional, as women stand with a statue of the Virgin Mary, and men carry Jesus to her. After the morning’s religious duties are finished, living-rooms and restaurants alike fill up with big parties enjoying a feast after Lent.
Offensive anti-tourism stickers are being sold all over Spain as movement spreads nationwide THE anti-tourism movement which began in Mallorca is rapidly spreading to all four corners of Spain, including Tenerife and Malaga. It all began in 2017 when the Balearic anarchist group Arran shocked diners at the Mar de Nudos restaurant in Palma. They held banners and flares and showered tourists and foreigners - as well as locals - with confetti. The group, which claimed to be 500 members strong, blamed foreign visitors for causing ‘contamination and destruction.’ And they told the Olive Press they had a ‘whole summer’ of disruptions planned. Over the years the movement has grown and spread to Ibiza, Barcelona, Sevilla, Tenerife, the Canary Islands
CRUDE: Antitourism stickers have been put over Apartamento Turistica signs
Tel: 952 147 834
See pages 13 & 14
TM
By Walter Finch
The Irish manage to snap up more property (5.5%) than both Belgians (4.5%) and Swedes (2.7%). The Swiss and Americans,
‘GUIRIS GO HOME!’
A right Charly
Checkmate
Brits shrug off Brexit and keep the Germans in second place when buying in Spain… at least when it comes to taking out a mortgage
By Laurence Dollimore
and this month, finally, to the Costa del Sol. It comes after Mallorca made headlines last summer for putting up fake signs that were designed to steer tourists away from popular beaches and hiking routes. The signs told tourists in English that a beach or cove was closed, while small print in Catalan revealed it was just a trick to keep them at bay. Now tourist bosses and businesses in Palma must be bracing for more as the season kicks off officially with Semana Santa (Easter) next week. Many locals in cities across Spain are blaming the tourism industry for pushing up rental prices and causing pollution. The latest movement, in Malaga, is allegedly being spearheaded by local Daniel Romero, who was kicked out of his home of 10 years as it was being turned into a tourist rental. The owner of the Drunk-o-Rama bar is now selling a series of offensive anti-tourism stick-
RUDE: Daniel Romero makes his feelings about tourism known ers, with buyers in Ibiza and Mallorca already vowing to spread them far and wide. He has been joined by other grassroots groups, including the ‘Guiris go home’ movement, which also operates in the Balearics. Guiri can be an offensive term for an expat or foreigner, depending on the context. The crude stickers have also been seen on car park machines, outside Airbnbs and on beach walkways. Meanwhile other stickers have been created that are a play on the phrase AT - Apartamento Turistico. The blue square containing the ‘AT’ logo was changed to include many rude phrases including ‘whore’ and ‘arse’. One reads: ‘AT - Antes de todo, eso era el centro’ (before everything, this was the centre).
Another says: ‘AT - Antes una familia vivia aqui’, meaning ‘before, a family lived here.’ The rudest read: ‘AT - A tu puta casa (go to your f*****g home)’ and ‘AT - A tomar por culo de aqui’, which more or less means ‘get the f**k out of here.’ The most poignant states simply: “AT Antes esa era mi casa (before, this was my home)’. See Tourism wars and Opinion on page 6