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Therme Vals
Therme Vals, is spa/bath open in 1996, by Peter Zumthor, located in Switzerland.
Concept:
The concept used by Peter to design bathrooms and spa next to the hotel , was to create a structure in the form of a cave or quarry. inspired by the natural surrounding, the bathhouse was located below a grass roof, a structure half buried in the hillside.
This space was designed for visitors to luxuriate and rediscover the ancient benefits of bathing. The combinations of light and shade, open and enclosed spaces and linear elements make for a highly sensuous and restorative experience. Also the fact that it is located in a very cozy and natural space is what adds a lot of fun to the experience, and makes you Live it mentally and physically.
the Therme Vals is built placing slabs obtained in the local quarry Valser Quartzite, layer upon layer. This stone became the inspiration to develop the design, and is used with great dignity and respect.
Valser Quarzite, the stone that Peter Zumthor got inspired from to build the Theme Vals.
Structure:
The composite load bearing baths consists of solid walls of concrete and thin slabs of Vals gneiss rock the place, broken or cut to size in the quarry just behind the village. Zumthor designed its building stone resting partially within the side, as if formed by nature. Due to the monolithic nature of the bath house, the building is also heated by the thermal mass.
Opinion:
I think that the fact that Peter Zumthor being an architect who gets inspiration from his own memories and emotions is one of the main things that impacts the architecture and how the Therme Vals were constructed. Hence the colors and materials used in the construction may give the look of blank feelings and show no emotions, but i personally think that it was intentional. Due to the blank and lack of emotions the visitor gets, he is being forced to make new emoting and connect with the building, and what’s better for connecting and making a nostalgic atmosphere than a warm bath in a cold weather.
Mountain, stone, water – building in the stone, building with the stone, into the mountain, building out of the mountain, being inside the mountain – how can the implications and the sensuality of the association of these words be interpreted, architecturally?
Peter Zumthor
Sources used: https://www.archdaily.com/13358/the-therme-vals