Pérez Gómez Arquitectura has unveiled its latest project, the Jardín de Aguas Termales (Hot Springs Garden), a profound statement on wellness architecture located within a thermal complex design in La Garita, Jalisco, Mexico. More than a mere utility space, the firm has conceived it as a structured sequence of sensory moments connected intrinsically to the body, the element of water, and silence, positioning the garden as an architectural pilgrimage.
The entire project unfolds within an orderly, rectangular floor plan, thoughtfully divided into three core zones. The journey begins in the north, dedicated to the intense thermal experience of heat and cooling. Here, a linear arrangement of individual steam rooms is encased within thick walls designed to retain heat and foster deep privacy. Before immersion, an open-air pavilion acts as a critical threshold, housing invigorating cold plunge pools and showers, establishing a necessary rhythm and order that consciously prepares the user’s body for the thermal cycle.
The entire system finds its origin and heart at the center of the garden: the spring itself. This nexus point is marked by a large thermal pool whose design concept is a striking inverted pyramid. Descending in concentric levels, this geometry subtly invites the body to approach the healing waters slowly and deliberately. Adjacent to it, a flotation pool overflows toward the center, creating a liquid transition, while a generous esplanade to the north offers a flat surface for rest, gathering, or communal practices like meditation and yoga.
Transitioning to the southern end of the garden, the atmosphere shifts to a more expansive and open experience. This area features a group of lower-temperature thermal pools that unfold directly alongside the path of a natural rainwater channel. The direct contact with the site’s endemic vegetation fosters a deep sensory immersion, allowing bathers to connect visually and physically with the surrounding landscape and the open sky.
The success of the Hot Springs Garden lies in its minimal yet precise architectural language. Pérez Gómez Arquitectura made deliberate material choices—pigmented plasters, gravel, and local stones—selected to harmoniously blend with the earth rather than seek attention. There is a complete absence of artifice; the design is reduced to pure planes, shadows, and paths. This minimalist architecture consciously invites a slowing down, guiding the user towards a full awareness of temperature, gravity, and sound.
Ultimately, the Jardín de Aguas Termales is presented as a finely tuned choreography of heat and coolness, of emptiness and form. It is a striking example of sophisticated wellness design where water, sprung from the earth’s core, is framed by Pérez Gómez Arquitectura in a way that facilitates a return to the self. This project stands as a quiet but powerful masterpiece of Mexican design, demonstrating how architecture can elevate a simple bath into a sacred ritual.