Thermal Bath Vals
Graubünden, Switzerland · 1996
Photo · Photo by Helene Binet
A seminal precedent for sensory, material-driven architecture, demonstrating how local quartzite stone cladding and precise, integrated daylighting can create a monumental yet intimate subterranean thermal bath experience.
- What we like about this project
- The ceiling slab does not appear to touch the walls, separated by a continuous thin line of light that makes the heavy concrete mass seem to hover.
Materials
- vals-quartzite
- stone-cladding
- cast-in-place-concrete
- water
Visual identifiers
- vals-quartzite
- thermal-bath
- linear-stone-cladding
- blue-skylights
- grazing-light
Style tags
- minimalist
- phenomenological
- monolithic
- swiss-modernism
Visual tags
- subterranean
- monolithic
- sensory-architecture
- water-reflection
- stone-masonry
- spa-design
- Geometry
- Orthogonal, cavernous space composed of heavy, linear stone-clad piers supporting a monolithic concrete ceiling slab. The ceiling is separated from the walls by continuous narrow light gaps, and punctuated by a grid of small square blue skylights.
- Structural guess
- Load-bearing composite walls of local stone and concrete supporting a cantilevered concrete roof slab.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scaled bathing pool with monumental, double-height stone walls and deep overhead mass.
- Lighting
- Cool, diffused daylight filters through a grid of small square blue glass skylights, complemented by linear grazing light from continuous perimeter ceiling slots.
- Atmosphere
- Mysterious, quiet, and deeply atmospheric, defined by the cool blue light reflecting off the water and the rich texture of the stone.
- Environmental context
- Subterranean thermal bath interior, sheltered from the alpine exterior.
- Spatial experience
- A subterranean, highly atmospheric bathing space where the heavy, textured stone walls contrast with the reflective, deep blue water. The space feels both monumental and intimate, with light washing down the stone surfaces from hidden ceiling joints.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal layering of the thin stone slabs creates a dense, rhythmic texture that contrasts with the smooth, flat plane of the concrete ceiling and the water surface.
- Style reading
- Minimalist phenomenology
- Program
- Thermal bath and spa
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- vals-quartzite, stone-cladding, cast-in-place-concrete, water
- Visual identifiers
- vals-quartzite, thermal-bath, linear-stone-cladding, blue-skylights, grazing-light
- Style tags
- minimalist, phenomenological, monolithic, swiss-modernism
- Visual tags
- subterranean, monolithic, sensory-architecture, water-reflection, stone-masonry, spa-design
- Geometry
- Orthogonal, cavernous space composed of heavy, linear stone-clad piers supporting a monolithic concrete ceiling slab. The ceiling is separated from the walls by continuous narrow light gaps, and punctuated by a grid of small square blue skylights.
- Structural guess
- Load-bearing composite walls of local stone and concrete supporting a cantilevered concrete roof slab.
- Spatial scale
- Human-scaled bathing pool with monumental, double-height stone walls and deep overhead mass.
- Lighting
- Cool, diffused daylight filters through a grid of small square blue glass skylights, complemented by linear grazing light from continuous perimeter ceiling slots.
- Atmosphere
- Mysterious, quiet, and deeply atmospheric, defined by the cool blue light reflecting off the water and the rich texture of the stone.
- Environmental context
- Subterranean thermal bath interior, sheltered from the alpine exterior.
- Spatial experience
- A subterranean, highly atmospheric bathing space where the heavy, textured stone walls contrast with the reflective, deep blue water. The space feels both monumental and intimate, with light washing down the stone surfaces from hidden ceiling joints.
- Composition rhythm
- The horizontal layering of the thin stone slabs creates a dense, rhythmic texture that contrasts with the smooth, flat plane of the concrete ceiling and the water surface.
- Style reading
- Minimalist phenomenology
- Program
- Thermal bath and spa
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture