La Perla del Océano Spa

25 November 2023 - 25 May 2024

Original 1910 illustration created for the presentation of the new La Perla Spa project.

The project's main challenge was to combine the spatial needs of two very different parts: the part devoted to leisure and relaxation and the part reserved for fresh and salt water hydrotherapy facilities. The spatial limitations imposed by the tidal flows also had to be taken into account, alongside the need to try to avoid harming the views of numerous villas located behind it.

Cortázar proposed the construction of a horizontal palafitte raised on piles, 128 metres long and with two floors. Within it, he developed classical resources of spa architecture such as the immense bay windows, which multiply perspectives; the large rotunda, which looks out over the sea; and a tower necessary to house the chimneys for smoke and provide pressure for the heated waters, thus establishing a visual dialogue with the minarets of the Gran Casino.

The conservation of this watercolour today is the main historical and artistic document of what was considered by the media to be one of the most beautiful spas in the world and undoubtedly one of the fundamental milestones in the renovation of the city at the beginning of the 20th century.