The hammam, an element of natural medicine, is a centuries-old practice that is still enjoyed today. The only thing that has changed is its appearance. Today’s thermal baths are real architectural masterpieces, on a par with museums and skyscrapers, and are often the work of famous designers.
JeJean Nouvel, for instance, created Les Bains des Docks at the port of Le Havre, five thousand square metres of baths in a white, almost translucent geometric space. The architect’s idea was to build upwards, doubling the building’s volume and leading bathers along a tunnel which gradually reveals the various pools, a taster of what is in store for them. The pièce de résistance is the iconic spa complex, with a hammam, saunas, showers, whirlpools and workout bikes in the water.
Peter Zumthor ha puntato tutto sui colori scuri, quelli di 60 mila pietre di quarzite utilizzate per creare 7132 Therme e traPeter Zumthor was all about dark colours, using 60,000 slabs of quartzite to create 7132 Therme, turning the small Swiss village of Vals in the Grisons into a premier spa destination. A feeling of wellbeing pervades throughout, as the light is reflected on the smooth, dark walls, creating different effects at different times of the day. Inside is a succession of baths with flower petals, steam baths and hot and cold pools. Shortly after completion, the building was given listed building status due to its outstanding design.
In anticipation of the inauguration of Bädenquartier, the new spa designed by Mario Botta in Baden, whose thermal waters have the highest concentration of minerals in Switzerland, we can get a “taster” of his concept of wellness in Arosa. Here the Swiss architect designed Tschuggen Bergoase, the realisation of his idea to “build without building”. He achieved this with sail-shaped glass structures, the only thing to emerge from the ground, which look very dramatic in the winter when covered in snow. With five thousand square metres of wellness spread over four levels, it has a large pool area, Turkish baths and saunas, treatment rooms and a lounge with an open fire. Natural materials were used throughout, including Duke White granite from the Alps, the local Arosa stone and Canadian maple.
Next year the Katpatuka Spa & Thermal Hotel project in Nevşehir, Turkey by GAD Architecture will get underway. The architectural practice, already famous for the Eskisehir Spa & Thermal Hotel, has taken its inspiration from ancient Turkish baths, preserving the vernacular of the location, with the design following the contours of the land and making very few changes. Local materials will be used and the whole complex will be sustainable, thanks to solar, wind and geothermal energy.
AND IN ITALY
You don’t have to go far to see state-of-the-art projects. In Italy Matteo Thun pioneered architecture in the sector with his design of the thermal baths in Merano, which have recently been extended. They are housed in a transparent cube, illuminated by large globes and coloured discs which dance above the indoor pools. Wood and natural stone are the materials of choice and nature dominates throughout – in the pools which overlook the Passirio river, the treatments that use apples, hay, milk and wool from Alto Adige, and in the outdoor spaces where ten pools nestle amongst the ancient trees. Matteo Thun also worked on the interiors of the Falkensteiner Hotel & Spa in Jesolo, the stunning white building designed by US architect Richard Meier.
Another seafront hotel and spa, this time in Castellaneta Marina in Apulia, is the Kalidria Hotel & Thalasso SPA, designed by Argentine architect Emilio Ambasz, recipient of the Compasso d’Oro 2020 (ADI Gold Compass award) and staunch believer that nature and architecture are inseparable. In this project, he used the semicircle as his theme. The low, winding building, covered with typical Mediterranean bushes and shrubs, blends seamlessly into the Biogenetic Reserve of Stornara in Castellaneta Marina, Apulia.
