About 20 years ago, the first wave of Nordic spas emerged in Quebec. Since then, the province has become a leader in the region. Expert local teams across North America work on designing these spaces, where everything is done down to the smallest detail for our comfort and well-being.
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You turn off your car engine. Already, taking the path that leads you to the spa, the first sigh of relaxation emanates from you. The strategy you put in place for pickup is in action.
“Space-time is expanded from the first minutes. Upon arrival, we are already called to connect with nature,” explains architect Pierre Thibault, who designed the latest expansions of La Source Spa in Radon, where 80 stairs lead up to the building over seven floors. This buffer zone is a daily Allowing the first break in life.
The experience continues at the reception, where a sensory lullaby and a view of the site’s beauty informs the journey ahead. The customer, when given confidence, can leave their worries in the locker room to better continue in the environment they were designed to escape.
Photo courtesy of Nordic Baths Source
Built into the side of a mountain, La Source draws on its natural rock and forest setting.
Making the trigger
“I always jokingly say that spas are Disneyland for adults,” says Pierre Miersky of the Lemaimichaud firm, which has operated a dozen spas in Quebec and elsewhere for 10 years, including four Strom and Chelsea Nordic. “You can take a hot bath at home and relax. At the spa, we want to create a unique environment where everyone can find a form of well-being in their own way. »
Nature is intimately connected with this relaxation operation. Failing to work from an unusual site, we bring natural elements into the ecosystem we create.
If it rains, it is this rain, but I want to experience it comfortably. At the spa, we constantly play in the spaces between outside and inside, hot and cold, intimacy and space.
Pierre Miersky, architect of the Lemaimichad firm
Docked in an urban setting, the former Bota Bota theater boat offers stunning views of the city centre, the Old Port and the river. “In this kind of project, the architecture becomes a seeing machine,” explains Jean Pelland of Sid Lee Architecture, who worked on the design of the installation under the Nomade firm umbrella. “Much of prosperity comes from being associated with a unique environment. »
This openness to the environment allows not only thought, but also a tendency to look outward rather than the other way around. Creating the impression that everyone is alone in the world on a site that hosts 300 people is a carefully thought out exercise.
Photo by Morgan Schock, The Press
Bota Bota facilities, spa on water
Cocoon in its details
A sense of intimacy is an important aspect of spa design. “When a customer enters a room, he must have the impression that he is the first person to step foot there,” emphasizes Patrice LaLancette, co-owner of La Source.
In this enclosed bubble nothing can be exciting or beautiful, as Pierre Thibault notes “The senses have no source of stress and anxiety. »
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Photo courtesy of Adrian Williams, agency Lemaimichaud
A partially submerged corridor allows you to move from building to building in Strom, Quebec.
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Photo courtesy of Adrian Williams, agency Lemaimichaud
The strom of Mont Saint-Hilaire is linked to its rural background.
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Spas “complex bugs”, “machines apart”, still portray their creators. According to Pierre Miersky, 40% of the spa is visible to the public. The rest happens behind the scenes where most employees are busy. “There are secret doors and hidden corridors planned. This double circulation is always present so that the bucolic side of the experience is never compromised. »
The link between nature, well-being and ecology can also be misleading. Energy consumption of spas is particularly high. Research to improve this aspect with less polluting forces or overcome it with added value – recycling of a building or preservation of a site, for example – is constant.
Added to these challenges is a particularly harsh environment, especially for materials subject to extreme humidity and temperature variations. “In Quebec, we probably have the worst climate to create spas. When we had a project in Arizona, we died laughing! », emphasizes Pierre Miersky, evoking the expertise acquired by local artisans over the years in these difficult conditions.
Photo by Marco Campanozzi, The Press
Balnea Spa, opened in 2005
Find the specialty
“When I started, there was little competition. We have to stand out now,” says Denis Laframboise, whose Balnea was the first to offer a Scandinavian experience. Bromont Spa recently announced a 10 million investment in the renovation of its facilities. More accommodation capacity, a micro-farm, greenhouses and gardens. It also wants to declare itself as an eco-responsible multi-activity destination with the addition.
To improve the offer for increasingly demanding clients, as a catering offer, catering must be changing: two particularly profitable aspects.
When we designed our first spas we were no longer monolithic.
Jean Pelland, from Sid Lee Architecture
However, many surprises are expected. You can find spas here like nowhere else, with daytime formulas and extraordinary sites. “What we see in Quebec remains the tip of the iceberg of what is happening in Europe, noted Pierre Miersky. Spas are starting to import experiences from other regions. It’s a planet of opportunity! »
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