Gravity Challenge: A spa ‘upside down’ in the air of a hotel in Italy conveys a sense of dizziness and emptiness

Hubertus Hotel – which overlooks the city of Valdaora north Italia– It is a space where the luxury experience is literally Floating all the time in the air. The tourist complex in which there is a spa sector and bears the architectural character of Noah’s netIt looks like an upside-down floating building.

Lukas Rungger, lead architect of the project and co-founder of Noa, emphasizes that the core of the business is heart of horizons. “Spa visitors experience a diverse and ever-changing range of perspectives in the wellness areas, as their perspectives are constantly changing, whether they are lying on saunaOr sit in the relaxation area or take a dip in the pool.” Officially called the hub of the huts, The project was completed last June.

“Dizzy and suspended in the alpine vacuumthe goal was to reimagine the experience of observing the landscape”, explains the architect. The facade of the spa was positioned to reflect in an infinity-edge pool, also designed by Noa, suspended 15 meters above ground level, supported by two columns dressed in pine trunks. The platform extends whole to nearly 20 metres, floating in the air.

A walkway, also suspended in the air, connects it to the newly built glass-enclosed relaxation area that can accommodate up to 27 people. On the podium are individual structures with gabled roofs containing sanitary facilities. Everything there seems to defy logic. An experience that sometimes feels dreamy or surreal.

Its visual highlight, of course, is the inverted gabled roofs, which extend down from the lower level of the platform, giving the skyline the appearance of a 180-degree rotation. The surprising result is reminiscent of an Escher edition, where the dreamlike structure follows a game of perspective reflections and geometric stunts.

A place where the senses lose their meaning

“The lower level of the platform causes a feeling of some disintegration. When you go down, the temperature rises and the environment becomes more protected. It feels like a descent to the center of the earth, with everything turned upside down,” says architect Gottfried Gruber, who supervised the project.

It is located on the upper floor 2 Jacuzzi, 2 panoramic showers and dressing room, exposed to the outdoors. The ground floor is a clothes-free area, and the central interior comprises the lobby. In the facilities there too Soft sauna, Finnish sauna, walk-in shower, cold steam shower and third outdoor poolwhere spa-goers can enjoy the entire surrounding landscape.

The spa’s colors and materials are inspired by its location. Aluminum panels in natural browns cover the individual cabins, shutters protect the windows and hide the thickness of the podium, and the floors are covered in light beige ceramic tiles. In the relaxation room, the floor is painted in white oak oil. The final product is an example of Gravity defies architecture As a testament to what can be created when designers think in harmony with the natural environment.

Nation