Ponte Caldelas Hotel & Spa, Pontevedra, España

A-cero designs a spa in Ponte Caldelas, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain Location: north of Vigo, northwest Spain - just north of Portugal The architecture studio A-cero, directed by Joaquin Torres, will build a hotel and spa near the Verdugo river, in Ponte Caldelas, northern Spain. This region is known because of its archaeological sites, very rich in cave paintings, the local architecture, worth mentioning the old bridge over the river, and the thermal spring that gave its name to the town, a traditional point on interest in this zone. Starting from these premises, the studio designed a project for this 10.000 square meters plot, where the first consideration was the integration of the new building in the natural surroundings, respecting the existing native vegetation and natural context. The building’s parts run along the riverside on different levels, assuming the terrain’s natural topography, and makes use of traditional forms, like the sloping roofs, and local natural materials like wood and stone, including the use of water as a design element in the whole of the intervention. The project includes a 30-rooms hotel, relax areas, health treatment consulting rooms, kitchen and restaurant. It is comprised by a collection of cubic boxes linked by a large corridor that contains the common areas and gives access to the rooms. Each block has been located to preserve the existing trees, integrating them to the building, preserving the riverside and the existing channel. The resulting building is marked by its serene character, its protected and dim lightened spaces and pure forms. Water, stone and vegetation are the elements that sum up the fundamentals of this design. A-Cero Architects Offices in Spain: Madrid + A Coruña Ponte Caldelas Hotel & Spa - Plan: Ponte Caldelas Hotel Pontevedra - images / information from A-CERO Architects 111207 Bilbao Architecture Valencia Buildings Ponte Caldelas Hotel architects : A-CERO Hotel Buildings