With the aim of fostering innovation, the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona trade fair is convening some new awards, such as the first Wellness Spa Experience Awards to distinguish the most outstanding facilities specialising in the therapeutic use of water.

 

Fira Barcelona

 

 

Another new event is the Architecture Competition, aimed at students of this discipline all over the world, to recognise the most creative, sustainable and original aquatic project. Excellence and innovation in solutions for public and private swimming pools will also be recognised with the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona Awards, which are being held for the thirteenth time this year. The show’s organisers have already opened the application period for submitting proposals and projects for each award.

 

Piscina & Wellness 2017 will be holding the Wellness Spa Experience Awards for the first time, which are intended to recognise the value of aquatic facilities related to health and wellbeing, a sector that is emerging as one of the fastest-growing drivers of tourism.

The jury, comprising a panel of wellness experts, will select the spa, thalassotherapy centre or wellness centre that demonstrates its excellence in several different parameters, including the structure and functionality of the facility through to water quality and treatment services. There will also be an award for the best spa technique provided in these specialist centres.


Another new feature at the show will be the organisation of the first competition aimed at students at schools of architecture, whether Spanish or international, who will need to submit a project for an aquatic centre which could be a public swimming pool, a sports pool, a recreational pool or a treatment pool, the choice being up to the contestants.

 

According to Santiago González, an architect who specialises in aquatic facilities and the coordinator of the event: ’This event seeks to find new contributions to the philosophy of spaces dedicated to enjoying the aquatic environment, and our hope is that participants will express new perspectives of understanding the relationship between humans, architecture and water. It will be important,’ continued González ‘that students give some serious thought to the value of this resource for people’s health and the environment. In this respect, it will be fundamental to include the concept of sustainability in their architectural projects.


The Piscina & Wellness Barcelona Awards are back!


The show will also be hosting a new edition of the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona Awards, which recognise the investments in R&D&I of companies in the sector who see innovation as a strategic tool to achieve more sustainable products and win greater market share. The awards are given in the categories of residential swimming pools, renovated pools, wellness centre pools, public swimming pools and also for the most innovative product.

 

The prize-giving ceremony for the different categories will take place on Wednesday 18 October in Casa Llotja de Mar in Barcelona during a gala dinner that will bring together the leading professionals and influencers in the sector.


The objective of these awards, according to Ángel Celorrio, the show’s director, ’is to reward excellence and foster innovation as the driving force of technological process, which not only applies to new-build facilities but also to the renovation and rehabilitation of existing swimming pools, a very important activity that has great potential for growth in the Spanish industry.’