The Augeo Art Space in Rimini, the splendid coastal city of Emilia-Romagna, makes a strong first impression. It’s a modern space, with swooping white benches moulded from high-tech Hi-Macs, inside the Palazzo Spina, which dates back to the 1600s. The white bench structure hugs the walls, and as interior cladding the solid surfacing conceals the original brickwork’s imperfections while bringing out its time-worn character in the arches. It evokes a “functional sculpture,” one animated by digital art projections.

Designed by Yasmine Mahmoudieh and commissioned by Sergio Antolini and his creative director, Matteo Sormani – who plan on reproducing it in other major cities overseas – the building merges art and wellness. An art gallery is found on the ground floor, while the spa is inserted into the basement.

Besides the spa, the subterranean wellness area contains a massage and treatment area and a fitness room. But it’s the water therapy zone that defines the project. One of the rooms, featuring a gleaming white tub, is clad in deep brown mosaics; another offers three pre-programmed settings – “balancing, energizing and de-stressing” – in a colour-morphing, scent- and mist-infused shower enclave. In fact, fragrance is wafted throughout the spa, as an indelible part of the experience.

For more design for wellness, pick up Azure’s September 2015 issue, now on newsstands.