Aire Ancient Baths Barcelona

Air, water and silence

Amid the hustle and bustle and noise... a haven of peace. We are in the centre of Barcelona, in a building from the beginning of last century, located between Mercat del Born and Parc de la Ciutadella. And right in the middle, in that exact spot, we find the Aire de Barcelona Arab baths of the Aire de Sevilla group.

The project poses the challenge of combining three aspects: the history of the neighbourhood, which is industrial in nature but has archaeological traces dating back to the vestiges of the former Ribera district, the tradition of Arab baths and the need to create a space that helps to disconnect the mind and body.

A functional programme is therefore implemented at three levels: water zone, relaxation areas and hammam in the basement; reception, changing rooms and hairdressing salon on the ground floor; management, massage cabins and Vichy showers on the mezzanine floor.

The intervention aims to create a dialogue between pre-existing and new elements. Simple materials are used, such as black granite, Macael marble and existing brick and stone; the texture of exposed brickwork contrasting with glass surfaces barely filtered by a fine gossamer; cast-iron columns and raised beams in dialogue with new volumes that reveal a rethink of an Andalusian courtyard; the solemnity of old barrel vaults in the water zone balanced by the continuity of marble paving on the floor, cladding the pools and shaping the seats and skirtings.

A system of recessed skirting boards and imperfections in the stone represent the connections between pre-existing and new elements that never touch each other at any time.

A predominantly silent user experience that is only punctuated by the sound of water and the flickering flames of lamps. We are somehow imbued by a sense of mystery in a journey through shadows, lights, transparencies, fragrances and sounds.

Air, water and silence explain the transformation of a place that was a goods warehouse in a not so distant time and today is a haven of peace in the heart of the city centre.

Following this same criterion and according to the same exacting standards, Aire Arab baths projects have been developed in their spaces in New York, Chicago and Vallromanes. Well-being is not exclusive to any specific place, but rather to those who know how to create the conditions for it to occur.