Project: Finn Lough Resort – Spa
Architects: Rebelo de Andrade Architecture & Design
Team: Luís Rebelo de Andrade, Pedro Duarte Silva, Anna Buono
Location: Enniskillen, Irlanda do Norte (United Kingdom)
Area: 100 m2
Year: 2013 – 2017
Photography: João Guimarães – JG Photography
Text: Valério Romão
Everyone knows that rainbows end in Ireland. And, as everyone also knows, at the end of the rainbow stands a pot of gold guarded by a diligent leprechaun. Exchange the leprechaun for the reception of the resort and the pot of gold for the spa and you get an idea of the magic involved in the experience of spending a few days in Finn Lough Resort – Spa. With luck, the day will greet the travellers with the sun timidly shining through the mist which also conceals trees that for an instant seem to be giant monsters.
As the mist disperses you see the lake, the hills dotting the landscape and the volumes that make up the spa. These are the result of creative experimentations around the four-roofed cube that guided the composition of the various elements.
The exterior of the volumes is covered in corrugated tin which has been oxidised to make it grow old more quickly. From its present golden colour it will take on a brownish hue and will end by blending into the surrounding trees. e interior is lined in burnt wood, helping to dissimulate the volumes in the encompassing nature.
As we walk along the trail to the various spa spaces, we find along the way the many volumes taken from the original cube. The organisation, colour and lighting of each one is different and specific, reflecting the therapeutic personality of each space. These operate as verses in a poem whose meaning – as with all good poems – is different each time you read it.
