The Termas da Serra project was launched in 2018 and covers a tourist complex in a mountainous region in southern Brazil, defined by accentuated topography and the presence of thermal waters in the project’s terrain. In order to meet the growing demand for high-end hotels, the project’s needs program includes a hotel, an event center, a water park and a spa.
The premises for the implementation of the project, in agreement with the designers and developers, are: integration with the landscape, environmental preservation, enhancement of local culture and conservation of the existing historical heritage.
The design is smoothly accommodated through delicate curvilinear geometry in the topography of the terrain. This design avoids exaggerated earthwork, reducing the ecological footprint of construction, and integrates the complex with the natural surroundings, respecting the native landscape. The implementation of the project also results in the reduction of the use of stairs and elevators for vertical displacements, vertical movement is mostly done through ramps that interconnect internal and external spaces.
As materiality, preference was given to local materials abundant in the region: stone and wood. These traditional materials are used in contemporary ways in the project, but maintaining visual similarity with the local constructions. The same curves that occur in the plant also occur in the roofs of the spa and event center spaces, promoting a unique plastic solution.
Common areas are spacious and comfortable. In these spaces, natural lighting is imperative, this solution reduces energy consumption while lightening the spaces in a gentle way, without obfuscating the users of the environments. Extended eaves protect the indoor environments from direct lighting and offer spaces for protection from the weather. The internal spaces are continuous and integrate seamlessly, without a clear division between the spaces.
The complex’s hotel has 384 apartment units, divided into 15 buildings positioned lightly on the terrain’s curves. The choice of separate buildings seeks not to obstruct the landscape with a construction of exaggerated proportions and at the same time to guarantee the privacy of the people who stay at the hotel. The apartments overlook the slope of the land and are oriented to the North, ensuring abundant natural lighting, characteristic of the entire complex.
