Urban Bath House - Senior Project

URBAN BATH HOUSE

The Urban Bathhouse, a bathhouse and wellness center situated in the heart of Chinatown, Los Angeles, just north of Downtown, aims to serve the elderly population while primarily targeting modern cosmopolitan workers and laborers who work 40+ hour weeks and seek refuge from the demands of everyday life. The bathhouse serves as an urban sanctuary focused on one’s overall well-being through the activity and ritual of bathing. It also seeks to revitalize the rich history of bathing culture in California and to initiate a conversation about what an urban bathhouse for the 21st century could look like.

The structure comprises five volumes, with some rising to a peak and tapering open to the sky, while others angle into the volumes to bring natural light into the space and allow integration between light, water, and user to unfold. Each hollow stone represents an aspect of the bathing ritual, allowing guests to escape into a sensory experience that promotes mental relaxation. The five-step ritual begins with a cleansing room to purify and prepare

NATALI VALLE

Los Angeles, CA

the body for bathing, followed by a hot water bath, a steam room, a massage, and a cooling ice bath to ground the body back to itself and enable exploration of the bathhouse.

The rest of the project offers wet and dry saunas, multiple pools at varying degrees, aromatherapy, treatment rooms such as acupuncture and charcoal clay mud baths, several yoga studios, meditation rooms, a café, and a library lounge.

The goal of the project is to liberate one from the requisitions of modern society and allow one to return to oneself, regain inner peace, and recharge one’s mind within an elemental architectural space.

CHAVEZ ALPINEST. PHILIPPE THE ORIGINAL ACTUAL SIZE GOLD LINE HILL ST. N. BROADWAY NEW HIGH ST. ALAMEDA ST. N. SPRING ST. BAUCHETST. N.MAINST. FAR EAST PLAZA JIA APARTMENTS CATHAY MANOR APARTMENTS THE CALIFORNIA ENDOWMENT

THE METRO SENIOR LOFTS

N CONTEXT PLAN SCALE: 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

PHOENIX

INN

AXONOMETRIC

SCALE: 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

FLOOR 02

BATHING RITUAL SPACES

REST AREAS

BACK OF HOUSE

SUN DECK

FLOOR 01

REST AREAS

BACK OF HOUSE

SUN DECK

BATH HOUSE AMENITIES

YOGA / MEDITATION SPACES

CIRCULATION

POOL

GARDENS

PROGRAM DIAGRAM

NEW HIGH STREET NORTH SPRING STREET A A B B FIRST FLOOR PLAN SCALE: 1/16” = 1’ - 0” 01 LOUNGE 02 CAFE 03 SUN DECK 04 YOGA STUDIO 05 BIKRAM YOGA STUDIO 06 HIMALAYAN SALT ROOM 07 GARDEN 08 OUTDOOR POOL 09 MEDITATION SPACE 10 CHECK IN/ LOBBY 11 HERBAL BATH 12 ROBE / TOWEL PICK-UP 13 MASSAGE ROOM 14 CHARCOAL MUD CLAY ROOM 15 AROMATHERAPY ROOM 16 DRY SAUNA 17 WET SAUNA 18 ICE TREATMENT ROOM DN DN DN 01 04 05 06 09 11 13 14 13 15 18 16 02 03 03 07 07 07 07 08 08 08 08 08 10 12 N

A A B B NEW HIGH STREET NORTH SPRING STREET SECOND FLOOR PLAN SCALE: 1/16” = 1’ - 0” 19 RITUAL 01 - CLEANSING A - LOCKER B - BATHROOMS C - SHOWERS 20 RITUAL 02 - THERMAL BATH 21 TEA ROOM 22 TEA PREPARATION ROOM 23 STAFF ROOM 24 RITUAL 03 - STEAM 25 REST AREA 26 RITUAL 03 - MASSAGE / SCRUB 27 RITUAL 04 - COLD THERAPY DN 03 21 22 25 25 23 19 20 24 26 27 A A B B C C C N