David Riverola and Clara Valverde, both ESARQ alumni, have been selected as finalists in the fifth edition of the Schindler Spain Architecture Award, the theme of which this year was “Vertical/Horizontal/Inclined Transport Solutions”. The prizes will be awarded on or around 24 October 2013 in Madrid.

The project “Unwind” is a proposal for a spa centre in the Diagonal Verda, a proposed “green” avenue that would cross through the city of Barcelona, thus linking the mountains with the sea and providing a counterbalance to Avinguda Diagonal, the city’s existing avenue for road traffic. The green area is designed to connect the two major green areas emblematic of Barcelona: the beaches and Collserola Natural Park.

The spa centre proposed by Riverola and Valverde would be situated in the area of Parc de la Trinitat and would be separated from the park by a sheet of water, which would provide privacy and also play a role in the spa programme. The idea of the project is to create a building space entirely covered by water and divided along the length of the whole structure by masonry walls with openings to allow movement between them and create different routes through the building.

With regard to accessibility, the project proposes access to the building via a large ramp that would also span the Roman ruins and connect the car park with the building on the same level. The different levels would be connected by ramps, staircases and an elevating platform.

Schindler has been working with various schools of architecture in Spain for the past fourteen years, aiming to get to know the architects of the future, drive creativity and work proficiency, and get them involved in aspects that highlight the importance of vertical transport lifts, elevators and escalators.