A cortijo with a one-metre-thick load-bearing wall isn't restored like a new-build home. Our Malaga studio works the Golden Triangle — Marbella, Benahavis, Estepona — with that in mind.
Restoring an Andalusian cortijo, estate or hacienda demands understanding before intervening: load-bearing walls that can't be pierced without expert judgement, Arabic-tile roofs over round timber beams that age quite differently from a concrete slab, and courtyards that have regulated indoor temperature for centuries without air conditioning.
From our Malaga studio we work the Golden Triangle — Marbella, Benahavis and Estepona — and recognise the same technical problem in its Latin American counterpart: the colonial house of Antigua Guatemala and Granada, Nicaragua, with adobe or masonry walls and an equivalent central courtyard.
Any enlargement of an opening in a stone or rammed-earth load-bearing wall requires a specific structural study; it's not treated like a new-build partition.
The restoration keeps the round beams where their condition allows, reinforcing above with boarding and insulation rather than replacing the whole roof.
Assessed piece by piece: only beams with rot or woodworm damage are replaced, keeping the floor's original geometry.
The courtyard is restored as an element of cross-ventilation and shade, not just decoration, integrated into the passive cooling strategy.
Treated with a chemical barrier or electro-osmosis depending on wall thickness, always before any interior finish that would temporarily mask it.
We work from the interior with breathable insulation systems that avoid interstitial condensation within the historic wall.
We restore passive mechanisms — courtyard, ventilation tower, window orientation — before sizing any additional artificial HVAC.
Calculated using the regulatory exceptions that apply to historic construction, without demanding the same standard as new-build.
Local regulations limit extensions on non-developable land; the project is designed within that legal margin.
Processed as restoration of an existing building, with different accessibility and energy-efficiency requirements from new-build.
When the property has some level of protection, the façade and exterior massing carry restrictions that shape the project from the first sketch.
If the estate keeps agricultural or livestock activity, the restoration licence is coordinated with the relevant sector regulations.
Design and site-management fees. The cost of structural restoration varies widely depending on prior condition.
| Service | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| Feasibility study and defect diagnosis | €1,500–€4,000 |
| Full interior design project | €1,500–€9,000 |
| Full project with site management | From €18,000 |
| Turnkey restoration | €1,400–€2,800/m² |
Our Malaga studio focuses on Marbella, Benahavis and Estepona, though we do consider restoration projects across the province.
It depends on local planning; in many cases there's a maximum extension percentage over existing floor area that the project respects from the initial design.
It's reduced very significantly with treatment suited to the wall's thickness and composition; on very old walls it's worth monitoring for the first few years.
Between 10 and 16 months, depending on the prior structural condition and whether a listed-building licence is required.
Yes, we have experience with colonial houses facing equivalent technical issues: load-bearing walls, central courtyard and rising damp.
Whenever its structural condition allows; we reinforce from below with boarding and insulation before ruling out recoverable original material.
Send us photographs of the current condition and the estate's location. On our first technical visit we'll assess structure, damp and the real regulatory margin.
Same team, same site supervision and the same standards in every destination.