The hotel – El Manantial – is a sustainable project located on the sea front of Sancta Cruz, a town in La Coruña, Spain. The building has been conceived following efficiency and flexibility criteria. The order and the integration of its components and its systems allows for the reduction of capital and operational costs, enables the strength to respond to the evolution of demand in the short and long term and increases the economic yield of the facility and its all season operation, as well as the beneficial impact on the local community and its wealth.

In urban terms the building dematerialises the barrier between the sea (to the front) and the park (to the rear) with a reflection free all façade glass at street level and provides a social focal point for the town.

A very clear diagram articulates the geometry of the building. Two vertical circulations cores at the North (public) and South (service) ends service 50 rooms spread in three floors which cantilever over each other to provide shading on the west façade which enjoys astonishing sea views. The East façade is protected by an aluminum skin which conforms an elevated volume that wraps the built fabric. The ground floor houses the common rooms and the hotel services and parking are located in the basement. The building makes a conceptual leap, it does not perceive climate as a hindrance from which it has to protect, but as a great potential for sustainable use. In turn his approach not only allows for the benefits due to innovative bioclimatic construction and operation to he reaped, but for the birth of an architecture that lifts the spirit.