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Thermal Baths in Panticosa · Spain

· Wellness, Sustainability

Waterfalls, rivers and streams

© Roland Halbe

The Baths at Panticosa are located in the dramatic Valle del Tena of Aragon, Spain, where mountain peaks near the project site hold snow throughout the year. Waterfalls, rivers and streams cut the surface of the mountains and the valleys, while underground the aquifer mixes with thermal springs from deep beneath the surface of the earth. The project highlights the idea that contemporary architecture must pay better attention to the environment and natural resources that surround the project.

© Roland Halbe

© Roland Halbe

The design concept of this luxury spa and hotel sought a balanced response to the natural setting on one hand and to the urbanized context on the other. The structure of the resort is built up into the side of the mountain, integrating its volume with that of its natural setting. To its neighbors, a church and a hotel, the building design offers a neutral response, moderately acknowledging the traditional space-making of these rectilinear blocks disposed orthogonally to one another. A series of curving walls or “ribbons” define the building’s exterior form. These “ribbons” spring from the mountainside and terminate equally, while between them are green roof surfaces in a series of terraces, forming extensions of the mountain landscape. This ‘watery’ shape gives a reduced appearance of bulk, and results in a structure that is thoroughly integrated into its immediate environment.

© Roland Halbe

PROGRAM

The program is complex, and the municipal zoning limits require that much of the floor area be located underground, making the provision of natural light and views of the surroundings to the maximum area of the plan a design priority. The carving out of the building volume and the strategic location of windows serve to connect the interior spaces with the mountain landscape, giving the visitor a series of orientating cues and embracing him in an atmosphere of wellness and serenity. On the other hand, the overlapping ribbons envelop and blend the spaces as they weave through the interior. On the main level are the pools and saunas, with one exterior and three interior hot pools, Turkish baths, cold baths, ice baths, saunas, showers, foot baths, relaxing areas, and juice bars.

© Roland Halbe

© Roland Halbe

© Roland Halbe

DETAILS

The façade is built of a custom-made glass block, trapezoidal in section, acid etched both inside and out. This block’s form was designed to accentuate the curvilinear aspect of the façade, the overlapping of each block course over the one below creating a shadow line that reiterates the planimetric curve of the façade.

KEY INFO

CLIENT
Aguas De Panticosa / Luis Nozaleda, NOZAR

LOCATION
Huesca, Spain

GROSS AREA
91,500 sqft

BUDGET
21.947.160 €

ARCHITECTS
Belén Moneo, Jeffrey Brock, Iñigo Cobeta

ARCHITECTS TEAM
Silvia Fernández, David Goss, Mathias Schútte, Andrés Barrón, Benjamín Llana, Brenda Moczygemba, Eduardo Vivanco, Bárbara Silva, Carlos Revuelta, María Pierres, Sandra Formigo, Andrea Caputo, Spencer Leaf, Clara Moneo, Brenda Moczygemba, Jose Galarza

TECHNICAL ARCHITECT
JM Álvarez, APARTEC

INTERIOR DESIGNER
Belén Moneo, Jeffrey Brock, Silvia Fernández, María Pierres

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Belén Moneo, Jeff Brock, Isaac Escalante (CES Arquitectura del Paisaje)

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
NB35, Jesús Jiménez, Alejandro Bernabeu

LIGHTING CONSULTANT
Diaz y Osorio

CONTRACTOR
HINACO-NOZAR, Manuel Mirallas

PLANS AND DRAWINGS
AWARDS
  • 2019Wallpaper Magazine, Best Spa Award. Thermal Baths in Panticosa.
  • 2019Interior Design Magazine, Best Spa of the Year Award. Thermal Baths in Panticosa.
PUBLICATIONS (selection)
Decade of Design, The best projects and products from the past 10 years. Interior Design Magazine, 2017
‘Termas de Tiberio’ by Moneo Brock. Metalocus, 2016