Situated in an mid-altitude area, where wind from the sea regularly creates fog, the Spa is conceived as massive blocks colliding in geologically-inspired tectonic-fashion. The blocks compose a outer ‘bark’ of parametric stone masonry that reacts to both inner program and the forces of volumes, which covers an inner ‘flesh’ of warm wood, that is revealed through cuts and porosities.
The building's fragmented masses firmly inhabit the crest and open toward the large void of the Valley underneath. From the main street, the expression of the broken masses reflects almost geological events that led to its formations. The stone skin keeps scars as trace of that process. Plants grow within the porosity. The lobby is situated at a break between two main wings, the angle between the adjacent parts enforce the perspective effect that opens widely into a great horizontal panoramic view.
Under the suite's extra-large balcony, a void separating the stone skin from the spa creates a necessary buffer zone in the shape of an internal garden/courtyard that filters sunset light. The transition from opaque to porous is a transformation of the stone wall as if under a tension. The stone walls animate, catch light, cast shadow and create transparency.
Where the wall bends, as a shockwave within a continuous material, the forces peel up the stone skin. The stone skin reacts as if a pressure point was applied on a monolithic system, stones ate subjected to a Domino effect with an internal resistance that diffuses the pressure which ends with distance.
The North elevation is shaded most of the time, thus enabling an efficient treatment of porosity with backlight. The planted courtyard at East is inaccessible creating a calm and serene setting adjacent to the Spa treatment rooms. The depth of the Loggias, combined with the geometry of the stone, provides passively the maximum of sun energy in winter, while sheltering from the sun raise in summer.