Water + Architecture
Content Contention Premise Scale Catalogue [Canonical] Projects : 3000 BCE — 2014 AD Narrative + Proposition Intentions Cultural Applications Context | Site Volumetric Massing Figure | Ground Water Vessels Materiality Entry Sequence Circulation Additive Functions Program Emotional Evocations Ambiance Site Proposal Addendum Sources
Contention
The reintroduction of a complex organized form which integrates the culture of bathing with the culture of socialization is an opportunity for architecture to conceptualize [new] public space through a rich historical typology.
Public architecture of the contemporary metropolis has lost the concept of bath house. The loss of collective bathing practices in economically developed cities represents the transition towards ideas of suburbia and the privitization of space. Instead, the privileged architecture of spa has become the prominent typology which hosts leisurely bathing practices. The spa reinforces division of classes through exclusivity and the inhibitive costs induced by the establishment. The bath house however, has the potential to neutralize social hierarchy such as in the ancient Roman “thermae” and the disappearing Japanese “sento.” The reintroduction of a complex organized form which integrates the culture of bathing with the culture of socialization is an opportunity for architecture to conceptualize [new] public space through a rich historical typology. In many cultures, the bath house prioritizes and celebrates water in a physically and psychologically experiential manner. The form of its architecture stimulates the experience, a ramification of the society which produced it. The space is designed both perceptually and functionally, from the inside to outside through sensorial vignettes. Therefore, the architecture of the bath house finds its essence in the space, the materiality (or mass), and the water which unifies the two. In addition to the formal qualities of the bath house, the values of different civilizations are expressed by the inclusion of hybrid programmatic elements — through libraries, lecture halls, restaurants, and many more functions, the institution becomes a place of social gathering beyond the ritual of bath, rooted in its specific cultural and geographic site. The culture of bathing (literally and metaphorically) strips away social status, it is embedded in an activity which replenishes the mind, body, and spirit. It can be closely linked with ideas of mental work, physical exercise, and personal leisure, in which the water becomes an oasis for one to contemplate and meditate. Without trying to impersonate and replicate historical models of bathing practices, to create a new type of bath house in a context of relevant bathing culture requires a specific site. Sydney Australia is a coastal city that deals with issues of urban density and waterfront architecture. Although there is little public bath house culture, there is a culture of public interaction with water especially with the ocean. Bondi Beach, as a highly populated site, can introduce a public bath house as the threshold between the tourist-heavy beach and the local residential surroundings.
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Premise 10
The way in which societies have come into contact with water can be studied in order to better understand the ideology of bathing. Rich and diverse in its history, the bath is indicative of an institution which prioritizes the health of the people : spiritually, physically, mentally.
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The potential for water as a material in architecture is more than visual, it is spatial and social, embedded with cultural and historical significance. Rituals and religions throughout the world have utilized water in both physical and symbolical ways, generating narratives which are spatially translated into architecture. Beyond the psychological and spiritual evocations, water has the capacity to stimulate physical interactions through sensorial relationships of the individual with the material. Water has a presence at multiple scales: globally, urbanistically, architecturally. Interrogating the idea of figure-ground, water can be either — it can engage people both passively and immersively in its three different forms of matter [gas, liquid, solid]. With these unique characteristics water can be used in design more effectively, becoming the driving factory around which architecture and space are organized. The way in which societies have come into contact with water can be studied in order to better understand the ideology of bathing. Rich and diverse in its history, the bath is indicative of an institution which prioritizes the health of the people : spiritually, physically, mentally. Notable throughout various civilizations, the bath house is hyper-contextual in both the geographical and anthropological sense. The bath house has the capability to combine landscape, waterscape, and cityscape through its architecture.
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The figure-ground relationship is a fundamental element of architectural analysis and design. Solid, mass, figure. Void, field, ground. Utilizing “poché” techniques, the space between the figures can be read equally prevalent to the figures themselves. What does/can the poché represent? The poché can suggest division, partition, separation of one space from another with the contour indicating thickness or depth of the object. In the case of Nolli,poché can imply the private volumes of space in relation to the public realm of its reciprocal figure.Poché then raises the question of permeability, how does its material facilitate certain notions expressed by its drawing? Water, as volume, can be represented as (n)either figure (n)or ground. Particularly in its liquid form, water is neither, while not necessarily so as when it is vapor or ice. In classical thermae, the Romans symbolically integrated water in its three forms with three types of baths: frigidarium (cold), tepidarium (warm), and caldarium (hot). In this sense the water is more ground, it can be occupied; one is immersed in the material represented as one of few single lines in architectural drawing. When intended for perceptual pleasure, the water feature can be considered as figure. Beyond its representation, the both/and condition reinforced by water’s material properties can contest principles of figure-ground. Aside from its physical properties, water also pertains to the various cultures across the world in which rituals involving water are performed, describing the narratives of societies. Water and land follow patterns of logic, patterns which tell stories of nature and express the orders and internal functions of larger cosmological systems. Nations have then formed dependent on proximity to water, a necessity for the success and prosperity of ancient empires. Whether personalized in a small household, celebrated in a large public square, or recognized as the land’s edge, the scales of water in architecture can allude to the vastness of all the water on the planet. Water gives life and vitality, its influence is inevitable.
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Scale 16
The threshold between land and ocean is a result of the needs of the society which determined a boundary, blurring, or joining of the edge condition. Landscape, waterscape, and cityscape can all become factors which define the form of the edge; various resolutions are dependent on geographic elements of the earth and sociopolitical factors of the civilization.
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figure ground world map
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The threshold between land and ocean is a result of the needs of the society which determined a boundary, blurring, or joining of the edge condition. Landscape, waterscape, and cityscape can all become factors which define the form of the edge; various resolutions are dependent on geographic elements of the earth and sociopolitical factors of the civilization. The implications of how each culture addresses the water demonstrates the value which water is held at, whether cherished or neglected. Through the analysis of different types of thresholds, ideas of water and culture can be extrapolated and utilized in architectural development.
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satellite image night time
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The patterns of inhabitance depend on the conditions of the planet, at a larger scale. Cities flourish around the life water provides, indicative by the lights of the satellite image that human occupation can be mapped geographically. People, within the various continents, have a tendency to live around water – shown by the amount of whiteness on the map. An investigation on waterfront architecture becomes necessary based on the density of population in areas which are peripheral to the land masses.
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satellite image day time
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There may also be a correlation of light to land in which the green is the marking of trees or moist terrain and the brown is desert or dry terrain. Although this is not always the case, the patterns of these maps tell a story. Nature’s patterns are expressive of the logics of the universe. Architecture must bridge the gap between man and nature, the expressiveness and thought process should result from the observations of site, context, and environment.
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Suzhou, China
New York, New York Venice, Italy
San Antonio, Texas
Paris, France
Beijing, China
Bruges, Belgium 24
Rome, Italy
Washington, D.C.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Water as architectural material was exuberantly out of step with the straight-laced times, being possessed of mysterious qualities that, for instance, relate the water in a specific place with all the rest of the water in the world... The water points to something beyond itself; it acts as a bridge, spanning the gap from physical reality to symbolic surreality... The world of water embraces every culture; each has its own way of designing with water and including it in architecture. Charles Moore, Water and Architecture
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Suzhou, China
New York, New York
Venice, Italy
San Antonio, Texas
Washington, D.C.
Paris, France
Beijing, China
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Bruges, Belgium
Rome, Italy
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The types of architecture that result from the intersection of water and land vary from city to city. While Charles Moore diagrammed the cities planometrically, it is also important to examine the edge condition experientially and visually — while the plan generates a concept, the image generates percept. The face of architecture towards water raises issues of hierarchy, for example which socioeconomic classes have access to waterfront and the programs which may be exclusive to these divisions. Issues of material and mass also become main determinants in the types of urban spaces created by the threshold of water and land.
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Catalogue 28
Through the critical analysis and understanding of different bathing cultures, a new architecture can be generated to accommodate contemporary practices of bathing. The goal of the catalogue is to conceptualize the historical rituals of water which have been lost or are disappearing.
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Heroes and aristocracy were “acquainted with bathing, as a refreshment from the toil, in various forms; they relaxed their weariness in the sea, which is especially good for the nerves; they loosened their tension of the muscles by bath-tubs... the men ‘washed away in the sea the thick sweat from their shins and necks and thighs’, they went ‘to the polished tubs and bathed, and, smearing themselves with olive oil, they sat down to their meal.’” Athenaeus, Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity by Fikret Yegul
The gymnasium created the social and architectural context for one of the earliest forms of communal bathing in ancient society and exerted a formative influence in the subsequent development of baths... The gymnasium was a characteristic landmark of every Greek city and retained its special position among the other urban institutions... Wherever Greek colonies were formed, the gymnasium was one of the first buildings around which the community took shape. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity by Fikret Yegul
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Greek Baths : Balaneion & Palaestra The Greek baths in Homer’s stories depict warm water bathing as a special reward reserved for heroes after long trips and battles. This idea was reinforced by Plato, arguing that hot bathing was an aristocratic privilege for kings while Laconian style bathing (cold water) was representative of the frugal Spartan life. However, with the growing Greek bourgeoisie, the lifestyle of leisure through hot water bathing was chosen and thus passed on to the Roman conquerors. The earlier Greek baths imitated the natural form of caves and rocks, considered sacred to chthonic powers and nymphs. The mass enclosed and enveloped a hot spring, “a dramatic and wondrous manifestation of nature.�
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Greek Baths in the Santuary of Apollo (Cyrene) 33
Greek Baths (Gortys) 34
Greek Baths (Gela) 35
Greek Baths : Balaneion & Palaestra The palaestra became a place for larger audiences and educational activity, including programs such as library and auditoria. It also became a place for hosting events such as public/private dinners, banquets/feasts, games/competitions, sacrifices, religious rites, and ceremonies. In palaestra the cold bath and steam rooms were tucked into the corner, however after renovation hot baths were introduced indicating a change in attitude about the physical body. The transformation of palaestra into balaneion could be attributed to two causes, the decline of the athletic/physical ideal towards intellectual education and the rising popularity of hot bathing/hydrotherapy.
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Sanctuary of Zeus (Olympia) with Palaestra 37
Hellenistic Gymnasium (Miletus) 38
Lower Gymnasium (Priene) 39
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Many a Roman emperor visited the public baths and enjoyed bathing in the company of his subjects... The baths were, indeed, the ideal institution with which to create the illusion of a classless society — one where wise man and fool, rich and poor, privileged and underdog, could rub shoulders and enjoy the benefits afforded by the Roman imperial system. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity by Fikret Yegul
The universal acceptance of bathing as a central event in daily life belongs to the Roman world and it is hardly an exaggeration to say that at the height of the empire, the baths embodied the ideal Roman way of urban life... There was even a cultural and intellectal side to the baths since the truly grand establishments, the thermae, incorporated libraries, lecture halls, colonnades, and promenades and assumed a character like the Greek gymnasium. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity by Fikret Yegul
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Roman Baths : Thermae & Balnae During the Roman empire, bathing was seen as a luxury and necessity, a pleasure which one could indulge in after a day of hard work. Bathing was more than hygenic, it was about personal regeneration, a social process and cultural habit. It was directly linked to the Greek gymnasium, palaestra, where light physical activity and various games often preceded the hot bathing practice. Sociologically, Roman baths were inclusive and appealed to the masses regardless of sex, color, creed, or wealth. Both small baths and large baths were typically opened to the public, even the privately owned baths had fees small enough for the citizens to afford. The beneficial role of the bath house was acknowledged and therefore led to the state’s prioritization of its building and maintenance.
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South Baths Late Trajanic (Conimbriga) 43
South Baths Late Augustan (Conimbriga) 44
Stabian Baths (Pompeii) 45
Roman Baths : Thermae & Balnae Romans viewed the bathing experience as physically and psychologically satisfying, it was a daily ritual to bath in the afternoons and evenings while the morning was reserved for hard work and business. Bathing was also socially satisfying, as the ambiance of the baths encouraged friendship and intimacy in the environment stimulated by warm waters. In the sequence of the day, the bath preceded dinner, it served as an occasion for friends to meet which lead to the enjoyment of food/wine with the performance arts (poetry, music, dance). “Dinner was the final reward in a world made perfect and capsulated into one privileged experience. Bathing and baths held the promise of that perfect world... Baths gave the Romans the world they wanted, a world in which one was pleased to linger.�
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Thermae of Constantine (Rome) 47
Thermae of Trajan (Rome) 48
Large Baths at Hadrian’s Villa (Tivoli) 49
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Thermo-mineral waters, discussed separately, were believed to be especially effective against muscular pains, rheumatism, and arthritis — ailments for which people most commonly seek relief in spas today... Seawater was known to have tonic effects on nervous patients as well as those suffering from consumption... Augustus bathed in heated seawater and sulphurous water from the springs at Anio to allievate his arthritic pains. Nero’s Golden House is reported to have had baths artificially supplied with mineral water and seawater. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity by Fikret Yegul
Pliny informs us that the same Crassus, who was probably a consul under Nero, owned an even more extraordinary bathing establishment at Baiae. This establishment appears to have been built in the sea (perhaps like an offshoe oil platform), around or over a natural hot spring. The spring was born in the seabed and forced itself up through the surface in spectacular clouds of steam. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity by Fikret Yegul
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Thermal & Mineral Baths Thermal baths and therapeutic bathing is important to consider due to ancient literary and epigraphic sources as well as the physical remains of establishments in proximity to natural hot springs. The popularity of this bathing type is indicated by the contemporary spas located within the same thermal sources despite the continuous use of traditional curative bathing techniques. Depending on their natural heat, mineral content, electricity, and radioactivity, the curative qualities of the water determine the popularity of spas both ancient and contemporary. However thermal baths tend to be inaccessible, rather than dense urban cities, many thermal baths are isolated and secluded in deep valleys or hollows.
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Thermae of Mercury (Hillside Complex at Baiae) 53
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Hillside Complex at Baiae 55
Thermal & Mineral Baths Classical civilizations attributed the phenomenon of cold and hot springs and the magical rejuvenative qualities of thermal baths as manifestations of divine powers. Thermal sources and the resulting bathing centers in proximity “were placed under the protection of nymphs and other deities of nature.� For those seeking cures towards good health, homage and worship to the nymphs/deities of the waters was necessary and a normal part of the treatment process. Inscriptions and altars dedicated/honoring the nymphs and deities were found on site, therefore indicating that cult observations were common.
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Thermal Baths at Tiberias (Hammat Gader Israel) 57
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Thermal Bath Complex at Civitavecchia 59
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The bath in Japan is more than a matter of cleanliness. It is an occasion for relaxation, a time for mental, even spiritual, cleansing, a subtle misogi (Shinto purification by water). Part hygiene, part ritual, part social, part therapy... The sento evokes a sense of relaxation and conversation with the neighbors, an occasion for a family outing that helps to mark the end of a tiring day. The sight of a young woman walking to or from the sento, towel and basin in hand, is a nostalgic sight. What’s Japanese about Japan by John Condon/Keisuke Kurata
Here it in some sort performs the functions of the public house, for it is a place where all are accustomed to meet on terms of nudist equality and enliven the time with chat and humour. Its name in Edo was Sento or “one cent hot water,” so it was an amusement that could be indulged in by every one. A Short History of Japanese Architecture by A.L. Sadler
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Japanese Baths : Sento & Onsen The sento (public bath house) was an institution that became popular for development in big cities during the Edo Period (15th C.) as well as shrines, theatres, and colleges. Prior to their rising growth, hot baths and hot springs dated back around the Heian Period (7th C.) and even later. Although not appealing to the upper class, the middle class/lower class went to the yuya (literally hot water) for both necessity (many residences did not have private bathrooms) and entertainment — the rooms above provided liquor and light refreshments served by attractive waitresses similar to a tavern or restaurant. This service was quickly prohibited by the government as the yuya were outside of the pleasure quarter and thus amusement could not be monitored nor controlled.
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Sento (1901/2008) 63
Takara-Yu (Senju Motomachi, Adachi) 64
Edo Tokyo Open-Air Museum (Sakuracho, Koganei)
Saito-Yu (Higashi Nippori, Arakawa)
Moegi-no-Yu (Okutamacho, Hikawa) 65
Japanese Baths : Sento & Onsen The onsen (hot spring) bath houses at fashionable spas are often monumental buildings which can be mistaken for temples because of their style of massive tiled roofs and imposing dominant entrances. Other onsen are more part of the town fabric, blending into the architecture with visual datums of the hills and sea shore. The Japanese prioritize a good view during the bathing ritual, therefore large windows will be placed such that one can bathe while looking to the hills or sea. The bath house is a type of public space unique to Japanese culture, while most ate and slept at home, the sento can be considered an exception as a social place of domestic practices. Particularly in ryokan (Japanese style inn) this is apparent, as one dines and rests in a private room the only public spaces are the garden, entrance, and bathroom.
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Dogo Onsen (Matsuyama, Ehime) 67
Ofuka Onsen (Matsuyama, Ehime) 68
Arima Onsen (Kobe, Hyogo)
Takanoyu Onsen (Yuzaka, Akita)
Yamanaka Onsen (Kaga, Ishikawa) 69
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I am thinking of a carved monument whose veil of splendor consists of pearl and which adorns the environs with the diffusion of gems. [One sees] silver melting which flows between jewels, one like the other in beauty, white in purity. A running stream evokes the illusion of being a solid substance for the eyes, so that we wonder which one is in truth fluid. But of course, it is the water that is running over the rim of the fountain — the monument offering long channels for the water — Translated by Frederick Bargebuhr, The Alhambra
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Turkish & Islamic Baths : Hamam / Hammam The hammams are an important urban institution in Islamic cities, evolving from Roman Balnae and Byzantine public baths when the Umayyad dynasty conquered territories of the Middle East. Early hammams were built in the 8th century, however following the rise of Islam, the architecture of the baths shifted from Roman to Islamic bathing habits. The process consisted of a large undressing hall, followed by three bathing rooms of increasing heat and steam intensity. Rather than immersion into the traditional Roman cold plunge pool, the Islamic hammam had an important religious requirement of pouring water over the body. In Islam, minor ablutions are necessary before praying, consisting of washing parts of the body at home or at the mosque. Major ablutions involve the purification of the entire body through running water. The ritual of body purification resulted in the proliferaton of public bath houses in Islamic cities, particularly because a lack of private bathrooms in the residences.
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Kiraly Baths (Budapest) 73
Ayasofya Hamam (Istanbul) 74
Alhambra (Granada) 75
Turkish & Islamic Baths : Hamam / Hammam The hammams of Northern Africa and the Middle East typically separate men and women by time slot, the building’s presence tends to be discreet and embedded in the urban fabric with other buildings and blank facades. In Turkey, the hammams consist of twin structures, in which the male section has a stronger presence with a more public entrance, and the female section is accessed from a less public space with a more discreet facade. In any case the fifth facades of these bath houses create a unique historical building fabric, consisting of architectural conpositions of pierced domes and vaults. “The act of washing in the hammam is marked by a sequence of rituals that take place in a succession of bathing spaces varying in their intensity of heat, humidity and natural light.� There are two main organizations of bathing spaces, the first is linear and sequentially organized along an axis, the second is centrally organized around a main octagonal room.
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Sultan Inal Hammam (Cairo) 77
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Khirbat al-Mafjar (Jericho) 79
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The way in which a civilization integrates bathing into its daily life, as well as the type of bathing it prefers, yields an insight into the inner nature of that period... The idea of leisure implies a concern for matters that lie outside our practical values. The intensity of life can be only tasted and fully appreciated when rhythmic pulls of activity and leisure — doing and not doing — are able to operate as two strongly magnetic poles. Architecture and the Phenomena of Transition by Sigfried Giedion
We are especially intrigued because antiquity has taken what is, to us, a basic and prosaic function and elevated it to the level of a cultural and recreational act, a civic institution for which there is no real counterpart in modern Western civilization. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity by Fikret Yegul
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Modern Baths Public bath houses were established in larger cities to accommodate the lack of bathing in private residences, as well as for the traveling public. In Europe, only the houses of the wealthy class had bathrooms while in America, even small city apartments had a bath tub for hot and cold water. Therefore, luxurious public bathing establishments were not as prevalent in America as in Europe, which was mostly limited to Russian and Turkish baths. The public bath houses contained separate compartments for bath tubs, one or several swimming baths, dressing compartments, and preparatory cleansing baths. Some bath houses had smoking rooms, reading rooms, massage rooms, shampoo rooms, cooling or lounging rooms, and rooms for hydrotherapeutic treatments. Usually, the buildings had grand entrances with large waiting rooms for the public, as well as smaller rooms for other administrative functions and ticketing offices.
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Public Bath House (Hannover) 83
Ocean Baths River, lake, and sea baths are often popular during the summer in which masses from the large cities go to cool their bodies and release surplus heat. Sea baths are largely beneficial due to the composition of sea water as well as the impact pressure of waves upon the body, exercise in open air, and breathing in the ocean breeze. Baths in river and sea water must be carefully considered based on the cleanliness of the water and condition of the banks, for example far away from any sewage disposal. Most of the ideal locations for river or sea baths would be away from dense cities, which often have polluted waters. River and sea baths are the least expensive form of bathing, they require simple architectural structures and can include bathrooms, lockers, showers, dressing pavilions, and even enclosed swimming baths (for example rock pools).
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Salinas Pool by Global Arquitectura Paisagista (Madeira) 85
The function of the Baths is to create and recycle private and public fantasies, to invent, test, and possibly introduce new forms of behavior. The building is a social condenser. It brings hidden motivations, desires, and impulses to the surface to be refined for recognition, provocation, and development. The ground floor is an area of public action and display, a continuous parade of personalities and bodies, a stage for a cyclical dialectic between exhibitionism and spectatorship. It is an area for the observation and possible seduction of partners who will be invited to participate actively in private fantasies and the pursuit of desires. The two long walls of the building consist of an infinite number of cells of various sizes to which individuals, couples, or groups can retire. These cells are equipped to encourage indulgence and to facilitate the realization of fantasies and social inventions; they invite all forms of interaction and exchange. The public area/private cells sequence becomes a creative chain reaction. From the cells, successful performers or those confident about the validity and originality of their actions and proposals filter into the two arenas at both ends of the Baths. Finally, in the arena, they perform. The freshness and suggestiveness of these performances activate dormant parts of the brain and trigger a continuous explosion of ideas in the audience. Overcharged by this spectacle, the Voluntary Prisoners descend to the ground floor looking for those willing and able to work out new elaborations. Baths : Exodus, or the Voluntary Prisoners of Architecture by Rem Koolhaas
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Baths : Exodus, or the Voluntary Prisoners of Architecture by Rem Koolhaas 87
[Canonical] Projects 88
Looking at canonical projects of both spa and bath house, each of these can be analyzed to extrapolate the conceptual framework and how the architectural form/program is derived from the motivations of a specific culture’s view on water and bathing rituals.
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Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan
place name
Great Baths
year 90
-2500 -2500
-2000
Baths of Caracalla
-1500
-1000
Rudas B
-500
Rome, Italy
Budapest, Leca de Palmeira, Hungary Portugal
Baths
Leca Ocean Pools
+212 0
+500
+1000
Vals, Switzerland
Yamagata, Japan
Therme Vals
+1566 +1500
Ginzan Onsen
+1966 +1996 +2006 +2000
+2500
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Great Baths at Mohenjo-Daro Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan 2500 BCE
One of the earliest public baths can be found in the ruins of the Indus Valley Civilization, dated back as late as 3500 BCE. With no written records, the only informations known are extrapolated hypotheses generated from archaeological and sociological speculation. The ruins show that the houses in the valley were arranged in a gridded pattern (perhaps decided by a leader), however there are no signs of either palace or temple structures. Having a “river-city culture� for its proximity to the Indus River, water played a large infrastructural role such that the city was filled with cylindrical brick wells and channels (over seven hundred uncovered in one section alone). The water distribution and disposal system was intricate, utilizing removable stone slabs for street drains, slanted floors for household bathing, and water pipes for houses. However, the Great Bath demonstrates a greater formality towards the bathing approach — by analyzing the city context one can deduce that the bath was reserved for ritualistic or religious cleansing rather than the daily hygienic practices likely performed in residences. Approximately 39 feet by 23 feet with 8 feet depth, it seems to have been a swimming pool with watertight bitumen sealant. The shear scale and layers of diversely treated brick construction demonstrate an effective use of available materials as well as intelligent tectonic methods able to be preserved for over 5,000 years.1 This ceremonial brick bath was elevated, enclosed, and centered within the city, indicating an exclusivity for the elite class. Located on the high ground it may have been functionally related to granaries (which may have been administrative) or perhaps valued as an honorific place above the valley of every day programs. Either abandoned or destroyed by a flood, the city was gradually buried in sand.2 The vessel itself strongly suggests being a reference of subsequent holy bathing places within India, a religious resort of pilgrimage in which one is cleansed of sins. The bath unifies three elements of ritualistic water practices: a bathing pool, descention into water, and representational figures of a mother goddess. Following 3rd century BCE, the next precedents appeared within Buddhist and Jain monumental structures by using channels/small pools for baths and rituals.3 The bathing place of Mohenjo-Daro represents an evolving idea and continuous tradition about sacred river sanctuaries today.
1 Ballantyne, Andrew. Key buildings from prehistory to the present: plans, sections and elevations. London: Laurence King Pub., 2012. Print. 2 Marshall, John Hubert. Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization: Being an Official Account of Archaeological Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro Carried out by the Government of India between the Years 1922 and 1927. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1996. Print. 3 Livingston, Morna. Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells of India. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2002. Print. 92
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Baths of Caracalla Rome, Italy 212-216
The Baths of Caracalla is an important example of well preserved imperial architecture of the Roman empire, fluid and simple even in its large scale. The baths were used through the sixth century until Roman aqueducts were severed by the Goths. Exemplary of bathing practices, the building contained three different baths: frigidarium (cold), tepidarium (warm), and caldarium (hot). Bathing was not the only program located in the complex, rather the bath house was seen as a place of social gathering in which there were gymnasiums (palaestra) and other health related functions. Surrounding the baths were also public spaces, libraries, and shops for commerce, demonstrating that bathing was embedded in a sociological condition about the order of the Roman Empire and the stigma associated with the act of cleansing. The semiellipse stadiums became a place for interaction in which spectators could watch competitions, flanked by libraries with spacious niches for books and elevated balconies. The use of the collonade typology is present throughout the building such as in the garden, courtyards, palaestrae, swimming pool area, bathing area, libraries, and stadiums indicating an idea about the grandness of the space rather than the partitioning of it. The process of bathing was a large part of Roman culture seen as an activity of leisure and resulting in monumental forms of architecture designed to accommodate ordinary people and instill a sense of privileged elitism. The procedures also become apparent in the architecture, such as the apodyterium, a special room for the purpose of undressing located in every establishment. Exercise also had a role in the space and sequence, bathers would engage in physical activities without exhausting themselves before entering the waters. Bathing was a luxury and necessity, contributing to the urban life of the city while simultaneously indicating the status of wealthy classes. Despite this indication, the bath was also a place of classlessness in which higher powers could mingle with commoners, where the ideal institution of bathing was a place of socialization and recreation. The environment created by the bath house could range from casual to formal interactions, dependent on the public nature of the spaces. “There is no denying the pleasurable sensory experience offered by most public baths: vast spaces filled with light; marble tubs sparkling with clear, warm water; gentle soothing massage; perfumed oils and soft, fresh towels.�1
1 Yegul, Fikret K. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity. New York, N.Y.: Architectural History Foundation ;, 1992. Print. 94
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Rudas Baths
Budapest, Hungary 1566-1572 The Rudas Baths were built under the initiative of Pasha Sokoli Mustafa, the governor of Buda in the early years of Turkish reign. The first building was an octagonal pool placed under a 10m diameter cupola with four corner pools around it, a traditional form for Turkish baths.1 The dome has many skylights of stained glass colors, allowing light into the main bathing pool with an oculus effect. Each of the waters in the four pools surrounding the main pool are of different temperatures, 61 F, 82 F, 91 F, and 108 F. The baths of Hungary played a substantial role in Turkish culture, “derived from Roman baths through Arab and Byzantine mediation” with “tripartite division of vestibule, antechamber, and bathing room (harara).” The harara of thermal baths are typically square with octagonal space surmounted by a dome, the Rudas Baths following this model.2 The bath was used often and thus the building complex was expanded by demand three centuries later, including a two-story building of separated rooms with baths, a larger swimming pool, and saunas. The rooms were organized around an L-shaped courtyard with the ruins in the Northern portion and the subsequent additions in the Southern portion. The medieval walls used mainly brick, concrete, and marble, while the 19th century additions used cement, mortar, stone, brick, and marble. A majority of the piping systems from the original construction were found during excavations, demonstrating the strength of materials used in the Turkish drain. The timber structure of the building was also found intact with wooden crossbeams running through the walls, in the foundation, and under the start of the vault. The basins and pipes were likely replaced during the 19th century and rerouted dependent on the additional features and baths added. All functions are currently used today due to its well preservation. It is said that the water has medicinal effects used for physiotherapeutic sessions, as well as a drinking hall. Three springs feed the curative water to the fountains of the drinking hall, Juventus, Hungaria, and Attila. Initially the bath was opened for men only, however currently it is opened to both sexes on weekends, women on Tuesdays, and men on the other weekdays. The Hammam were viewed as a place for social gathering as well as religious process — the bathing ritual finds its roots in the Islamic procedure of cleansing the body before prayer or handling of the Qur’an.
1 Paola Bottoni, Mihaly Óvári, Gyula Záray, Sergio Caroli, Characteristics of spring waters in Budapest: A short review, Microchemical Journal, Volume 110, September 2013, Pages 770-774, ISSN 0026-265X, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2013.09.002. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0026265X13001574) 2 Kisfaldi, Julia. Archaeological Investigations in Hungary 2004. Kulturalis Oroksegvedelmi Hivatal es a Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum. 2005. Budapest. Online. 96
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Leca Ocean Pools
Leca de Palmeira, Portugal 1966 According to Alvaro Siza, the coastal road is an important location for movement, especially in the case of Leca de Palmeira it is necessary to be a part of that circulation. It is not made from conceptual speculations nor local issues, rather “it is made of stone, asphalt, grass, traffic lights, cars both stationary and moving, the sound of horns, animals leashed and unleashed, carts selling ice-cream and sweets, esplanades, chit-chat, confiding, flirting. It is also made of opinion, critique, and civic intervention.” Transforming the road into a livelier place through the simple ordering of elements, the materials, the functions, the routes of movement. The sea, rocks, and air are all aligned in relationship to the horizon and the coast. Man has taken the boundaries determined by nature and turned it into “a place full of life and potential. The ‘true’ coastline is still to be invented, or reinvented. Even generations and generations of architects, yet to be born, will not find it.”1 The project itself was a topographical intervention, a subtle mediation between the coastal road and the sea. All the walls, ramps, steps, and platforms were made from in-situ concrete, everything became part of the earthwork with the exception of the timber roof of the showers/bathrooms/changing facilities. The descension down the ramp into the massive walls makes one lose sight of the horizon, progressing through the corridors and partitions of scarce light and smooth floors. The sequence continues as one comes out into the light, still the sea is hidden from view, while walking along the walled pathway. The circulation is finally interrupted, allowing one access to the sea and pools, “seldom has modern architecture granted such dramatic quality to architectural programme.” The two swimming pools themselves are quite different, one rectangular for adults and one organic for children, both with the goals of seeming natural as if they had always been there. In certain vantage points, the Japanese concept of shakkei “borrowed scenery” is utilized such that the pools become an extension of the sea with a horizontal emphasis. “As Martin Heidegger puts it, ‘a boundary is not the point at which something stops but, as the Greeks recognized, the boundary is that from which something begins its presencing.”2
1 Castanheira, C., & Siza, A. (2009). Álvaro Siza: The function of beauty. London: Phaidon. 2 Siza, A., & Frampton, K. (2000). Álvaro Siza: Complete works. London: Phaidon. 98
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Therme Vals
Vals, Switzerland 1993-1996 Peter Zumthor’s goal was to create a hot spring set deep into the mountain, using stone and water as the driving forces of the project. The ritual of bathing would evoke nostalgic feelings through a building which seemed older than any of those around it, utilizing ideas of the vernacular architecture of Vals. Thousands of stone plates would make up the mass of the bath house, relating the topography and geology of the site to the material and formal strategies employed. In this highly contextualized sense, the building becomes a part of the alps emerging from both ground and water as a series of boulders. The ambiance was also inspired by the Rudas Baths in Budapest, “the rays of light falling through the openings in the starry sky of the cupola illuminate a room that could not be more perfect for bathing: water in stone basins, rising steam, luminous rays of light in semidarkness, a quiet relaxed atmosphere, rooms that fade into the shadows; one can hear all the different sounds of water, one can hear the rooms echoing. There was something serene, primeval, meditative about it that was utterly enthralling.” The building takes materials of the earth and charges them to create a sensual experience of architecture — one that engages visual, audio, and tactile senses. The benefits of the stone are more than experiential, the stone is versatile and strong against pressure, temperature, weather/climate, fire, frost, and abrasion. The detailing of the brass pipes and railings add to the horizontal nature of the baths, rarely are there vertical accents. The light moves laterally through strips (seams) between the slabs of the ceiling, illumination joints intend to define the space along with stone and water. The narrative of water in the project is also allusive to many stories within Greek mythology, one as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses : Actaeon (the hunter) sees Artemis (goddess of woods, animals, moon, water, etc.) bathing and is turned into a stag then killed by his own hounds. The irony of Greek mythology, “fortunae crimen, or for so fate would have it.” The ritual of bathing as the story portrays is reserved for nymphs and deities, for healing, contemplation, and an act of purification. The goddess represents these characteristics of water, both strong and pure as well as a source of life, food, fertility. The water of Therme Vals is treated physically and spatially, embedded with significance by many stories of water in Western culture.1
1 Hauser, Sigrid, Peter Zumthor, and Hélène Binet. Peter Zumthor Therme Vals. Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 2007. Print. 100
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Ginzan Onsen at Fujiya Inn Yamagata, Japan 2006
Kengo Kuma’s project for the Ginzan Onsen Fujiya was a spa and inn, deep in the snowy countryside of Honshu. Kuma recreates a four-storey building in wood, reaffirming the delicately scaled townscape of the Ginzan River which contains many lodges of similar volume. To change the structure and mass of the building would disrupt the buildings of the context and ambiance of the hot spring area. The building also follows its context with the use of whitewashed stucco and aged wood elements, the simple treatment of the building allows one to better see the beauty of the surroundings — lushly vegetated mountains surrounding the site and the Ginzan River which meanders along it and organizes the entire town.1 The extensive refurbishment of the ryokan involved using traditional hand-crafted materials with minimal details, both old materials of the demolished existing building and new materials of a modern design aesthetic. The goal was to create a facade which would have looked as it did 100 years ago, using the materials which were 100 years old. Panels of green stained glass give off a diffuse light through the transluscent opacity, filling the interior spaces with soft shadows and light.2 The entry sequence also becomes important, one moves across the bridge over the canal, past the reflecting pool at the entrance, and through a series of wood and glass screens (rather than opaque surfaces). Through the reflecting pools and transluscent panels, the grand interior entrance hall becomes an ambiguous space which is not distinguished as either interior or exterior. The two upper stories contain eight rooms in total, with a main area sized at ten tatami mats. There are numerous bathing areas and alcoves on each of the floors, however each room contains its own wooden counter and washbasin. The interior spaces are gently partitioned using traditional Japanese screens of 4mm-wide bamboo, giving an elegant appearance to the screens which are neither louvres nor curtains.3 The use of light and texture in this project is particularly deliberate yet understated, the spaces rely on diffuse and reflected light, tempered through layers of screens with approximately 1.2 million vertical wood elements throughout the entire project. The sources of light are constantly hidden, both natural and artificial, giving a soft glow for the meditative environment.
1 Bognár, Botond. Beyond the bubble: the new Japanese architecture. London: Phaidon Press, 2008. Print. 2 Schittich, C. (2008). In Detail: Interiors, surfaces and materials: Aesthetics, technology, implementation. Basel: Birkhäuser. 3 Kuma, K., & Frampton, K. (2012). Kengo Kuma: Complete works. London: Thames & Hudson. 102
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Great Baths 2500 BCE Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan
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Baths of Caracalla 212 Rome, Italy
the city
the city
the hill
the hill
the water
the water
Rudas Baths 1566 Budapest, Hungary
Leca Ocean Pool 1966 Leca de Palmeira, Portugal
the city
the city
the hill
the hill
the water
the water
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Ginzan Onsen Fujiya Ryokan 2006 Yamagata, Japan
Therme Vals 1996 Vals, Switzerland
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the city
the city
the hill
the hill
the water
the water
Each of the different projects has unique site conditions which determine elements of the design, both geographic or cultural. All are located in proximity to water and other buildings. Each deals with different issues of density, whether urban density such as the Baths of Caracalla, or landscape density such as the Ginzan Onsen. The site largely impacts the design of the bath houses, ideas about seclusion or publicness result from the location of the bath house. Conceptions about audience and occupation also come into play, determining which social classes have access to these buildings. Throughout different time periods and cultures, water has been used in distinct formal ways. The massing of each of these becomes a larger implication about their relationship to the overall formal strategies as well as conceptual frameworks. The scale of each project relative to the volume of water also makes a statement about the ceremonial application of water as a ritualistic practice in the society for which it manifests. While some projects utilize large communal pools of water, others create intimate bathing spaces of small bath tubs. Each bath house creates a different atmosphere based on its scale and deployment of volume and programmatic elements aside from bathing. The sequence through which one navigates the spaces also becomes significant, particularly of the entrance into the water. The six projects all use drastically different shapes and organizing principles to combine water, space, mass, and light. Through these design aspects, the tendencies of public buildings and societal practices in various civilizations are articulated spatially, as well as the motivations of the architecture itself.
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108
geometry and grids
Separated Spaces Parti
programs and circulation
repetition
axiality and symmetry
differentiated mass
orthogonality and alignment
main circulation and courtyard
geometry and grids
Axial Parti
programs and circulation
repetition
axiality and symmetry
differentiated mass
orthogonality and alignment
main circulation and courtyard
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110
geometry and grids
Nested L-Shape Parti
programs and circulation
repetition
axiality and symmetry
differentiated mass
orthogonality and alignment
main circulation and courtyard
geometry and grids
U-Shape Pool Parti
programs and circulation
repetition
axiality and symmetry
differentiated mass
orthogonality and alignment
main circulation 111
112
geometry and grids
Structural Parti
programs and circulation
repetition
axiality and symmetry
differentiated mass
orthogonality and alignment
main circulation and courtyard
geometry and grids
U-Shape Court Parti
programs and circulation
repetition
axiality and symmetry
differentiated mass
orthogonality and alignment
main circulation and courtyard
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116
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Site 132
Sydney Australia is a coastal city that deals with issues of urban density and waterfront architecture. Although there is little public bath house culture, there is a culture of public interaction with water especially with the ocean. Bondi Beach, as a highly populated site, can introduce a public bath house as the threshold between the tourist-heavy beach and the local residential surroundings.
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Sydney, Australia 134
Boundaries of Sydney, Australia 135
136
Palm Beach
Whale Beach
Avalon Beach
Bilgola Beach
Newport Beach
Mona Vale Beach
Narrabeen Beach
Collaroy Beach
Dee Why Beach
Curl Curl Beach
South Curl Curl Beach
Freshwater Beach
North Steyne Beach
Manly Beach
South Bondi Beach
Bronte Beach
Clovelly Beach
Coogee Beach
Wylie’s Beach
Maroubra Beach
Malabar Beach
Cronulla Beach
Oak Part Beach
Shelly Beach
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141
South Bondi Rock Pools 142
North Bondi Rock Pools 143
View of South Bondi Rock Pools 144
View of North Bondi Rock Pools 145
South Bondi Icebergs Exterior 146
South Bondi Icebergs Interior 147
148
Main Strip, Campbell Parade 149
The Site 150
Bondi Beach is a popular beach in Sydney Australia, within 4 miles of the Sydney Central Business District. The beach hosts many tourists year round due to the mild climate and its proximity to the city center. The surrounding area accommodates commercial activity, mainly shops and restaurants/bars on the main strip. Beyond that strip lies private residences, some of the most valuable real estate densely packed to create the fabric of a city where urban sprawl is consistently prevalent. The site and its vicinity lack a public institution, a place for people to gather and socialize beyond the beach that draws many travelers. Introduction of a public program to Bondi Beach has the potential to bridge the social gap between foreign visitors and local residents.
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Proposal 152
The public bath house, with the potential to neutralize social hierarchy, can be introduced to Bondi Beach as an institution for public engagement. Through the ritual of bathing and hybrid programs, the form and site can facilitate active socialization between tourist and local — the architecture creates an urban threshold for society.
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154
This project for a public bath house aims to explore the programmatic possibilities as well as the formal methods which architecturalize ideas of bathing practices. The materiality of water has a psychological, physical, and spiritual effect, therefore it must be used throughout the design with an intentionality that acknowledges each of these factors. Careful attention must be given to the materials used within the architecture, the goal is to create a sensorial experience for each individual while simultaneously initiating the intervention of a larger social establishment for the public. The elements of program, form, and site should be unified and cohesive in the final design — ultimately expressing the ideology that the public bath house has the ability to deconstruct social hierarchy and can become a new type of institutional public architecture.
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Addendum & Sources 156
157
Water can _____*
* fill in the blank 158
Bibliography
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Water + Architecture Cara Cecilio Fall 2014 Advisor Roger Hubeli