Special Mention by the LILA 2024 Jury

Tepoztlan Spa

Built in 2021 / 2024 Hospitality / Mexico /
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The Tepoztlan Spa aims to immerse itself in the jungle. It features a roof garden that absorbs the architectural features and connects visitors with the jungle canopy. On the ground floor, the itinerary is emphasised with a ‘Sacro Bosco’ experience, where the distribution of seemingly historic objects would reference the presence of another world from another time. The jury was impressed by the groundwork and the apparent objective of blending the garden with the dense vegetation. The integration of this wellness facility into the existing dense natural surroundings is well conceived, as the paths and entrances are reduced to the necessary minimum of built interventions. On the other hand, the jury was less impressed by the lighting, which is at odds with the immersive experience.
- from the award statements

When we are thinking in built spaces where human can cohabitate with the nature, we believe in the compromise that we have with the environment, this project still being an example where we are looking for to not hinder the natural dynamics to the greatest extent possible.

To build landscapes that let the connection among usual human necessities with the vital necessities in a specific environment is still a challenge and a job with constant learning.
We believe that Tepoztlan Spa is a project that since the beginning is teaching us that we have a lot to understand about the introduction of human necessities within a natural environment nevertheless the project makes us feel satisfied when it show us that it is possible find tools and strategics that can protect and preserve the main functions in this particular ecosystem.

Tepoztlan Spa has a privileged location surrounded of green, next to a stormy river and adjacent to the mountain, this area is full of history and mysticism. A Mexican town that attributes powers to natural elements, a place where the architecture and landscape is dominated by the natural environment. Conditions punish the permanence of buildings with humidity, drought, heat, and cold.

The project consists of a circular building built with volcanic stone that seeks to represent a mountain, in which the vegetation is born at the top, overflows and contains it. The entrance venerates the idea of entering the interior of the mountain through a tunnel that takes the user on a circular route through the spaces intended for the well-being of the body. With the mood cleansed, the user re-emerges on a staircase that takes him or her to a new lush landscape. In the center, a round skylight is imposed with the help of the sun and the water that filters below, the rainwater falls through this window like a sky-eye, collecting it and storing it inside a cistern prepared to be reused as irrigation.

The gym, massage room, lockers, showers and bathrooms, sauna and frigidarium are ranged around the central space and complete the active program. The upper program is perfect for contemplation, a place where guests can enjoy dawn, dusk, and the night around an open fire or in a hot tub.

Architecture offices involved in the design: Jsa, SOA, Carlos Trujillo.

Location: Tepoztlan, Morelos, México

Design year: 2019

Year Completed: 2021

Photographer: Jaime Navarros