A collaboration led by architectural firm Francisco Mangado has been commissioned to convert an old hospital into a thermal bath facility in France following a design competition.
Francisco Mangado, along with V2S architectes, Terrell, SACET, Alayrac, and GAMBA Acoustique Architecturale & Urbaine, will convert the old Thermal Hospital of the municipality of Amélie-les-Bains in southern France into a spa.
Scheduled to open at the end of 2016, the €6.5m (US$9m, £5.3m) 3,143sq m (33,830sq ft) spa conversion is set over three floors and will feature hot zones, cold zones and a spa area offering a total wellness experience.
The hot zone comprises three saunas, three Turkish baths and a Roman-style caldarium steamroom.
The spa features three cold zones with the first including experience showers, a tepidarium and frigidarium. Guests enter the cold frigidarium after using the Caldarium and Tepidarium, which are used to open the pores of the skin. The cold water of the Frigidarium, which includes a cascading waterfall will close up the pores following the Caldarium/Tepidarium experience.
A second, more modern cold zone includes a large interior bathing area, a leisure area, Aquagym and a large outdoor courtyard for relaxation.
The third and final cold zone offers a grotto and bar with sun terrace and a balcony with waterfall areas.
The conversion’s spa-specific area will include a dry zone with three rooms for beauty treatments, four general treatment rooms, and a room offering Cellu M6 lipomassage and endermolift treatments.
The spa’s wet zone features four cabins with private baths and experience showers.
An outdoor treatment space is also included offering a patio with caldarium and tepidarium.
The proposed renovation of the centre superimposes a new, softer construction of light volume and glass surfaces on the solid masonry retaining walls of the existing complex. Francisco Mangado say that the plans will incorporate the original architecture of the former hospital while transforming it to accommodate a traditional thermal spa facility with all the features of a modern spa.
