MASTER PLAN FOR THE SANT ELM BATHS BUILDING

The City Council of Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Baix Empordà) commissioned us to draft the Master Plan for this heritage site, with the aim of managing it in coordination with the State's Directorate-General for Coastal Areas.

  • Project dossier written in:
    • Xavier Busquets i Montse Estrany
  • Writting team director:
    • Josep Maria Fortià
  • Collaborators:
    • Miquel Llorens i Rosa Verges, Arquitectes experts en càlcul
  • Promoter:
    • Ajuntament de Sant Feliu de Guíxols

Looking back to move forward… That’s what we did in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The aim is to restore the building of the Banys de Sant Elm, an early 20th-century property, slender and marked by a Nordic elegance.

It was one of the first therapeutic bathhouses in Catalonia, designed by local architect Joan Bordàs, and became a key landmark in the history of Sant Feliu.

The building, capturing the elegance of the early holiday resorts, featured 54 bathing rooms, 152 beach cabins, and two indoor pools. It was an aesthetic benchmark, playing with the lightness of timber frames and sails at the water’s edge.

Later, with the rise of mass tourism, the building lost its original character and was transformed into a nightclub and event venue.

The challenge of the Master Plan we have developed is to recover the versatile lightness of the original building, which will remain anchored like a sailboat on the beach sand.

Based on the drawings and regulations of this Master Plan, the City Council will be able to launch the restoration project in accordance with the guidelines set out in the document. At the same time, it will be able to propose activities for the building, whether public or private initiatives, through administrative concession.