Food & Wellness Club – Bioclimatic wellness centre in Bologna

FICO Eataly World, the 80,000 m² agri-food park inaugurated in Bologna within the CAAB complex, is a place where Italian food and food culture become an experience. In this context, the FICO Wellness Club by Barberio Colella Architetti (competition proposal) offers a space where body care intertwines with the very philosophy of the place: natural ingredients, quality materials, and total sensory attention. The brief called for a comprehensive wellness centre (swimming pools, spa, meditation area, gym, spa suites, restaurant) capable of attracting visitors from the high-end segment and offering an immersive experience that engages all the senses.

Two themes guide the entire project: water and timber. Water is the most precious element for human life and gives rise to timber, one of the most valuable materials for civilisation. This relationship is reflected in the building’s form: viewed from the outside, the volume and its translucent polycarbonate building envelope evoke a drop of dew on a leaf. The interior is dominated by the warm tones of timber, a chromatic echo of the bricks from which Bologna is built. The system of balconies on the side pavilions recalls the city’s famous porticoes, creating a dialogue between Bologna’s historic typology and the project’s contemporary language.

The building envelope and the structure are born from the same principle: the aggregation of plant cells. The pattern defining the facade and the building’s load‑bearing structure is generated parametrically from the geometry of plant cells, a direct reference to timber in its most elementary form of internal organisation. The structure is made of curved plywood cells, connected to one another using a nut-and-bolt system. A reflective film applied to the building envelope reflects up to 83% of solar heat in summer and retains internal heat in winter. The courtyard, the heart of the project, functions as a passive ventilation system in both winter and summer.

The 1,000 m² Acqua Zone is the heart of the project: a fluid space with pools of varying sizes, two on the ground floor and one on the upper level. The club also includes a 600 m² spa (Turkish bath, sauna, solarium, massage area, individual treatment pools and sensory showers), four spa suites of 50 m² each, an 80 m² meditation area, a gym, an organic restaurant and a coffee shop. The project was featured in Rethinking The Future.