A visual and physical continuum between indoors and outdoors, generating a perception that compounds an already complete wellness experience achieved by harnessing the spirit of place. (25 different pools in Italy’s largest public spa).
According to archaeological records, the springs in Meran have been in use for some 5.000 years. If those records are true, then the antecedents in the modern baths in this historical little town on the southern side of the Alps (which enjoys 300 days of sunshine every year) were already attracting users 1.000 years before the ancient Egyptians discovered the use of therapeutic baths were a staggering 3.000 years old when the Romans built their famous installation in Bath, in England. When the ancients took the plunge in the Meran springs, the view they could enjoy of the town’s magnificent location, set like the jewel in a crown of mountains, was unfettered by any surrounding manmade structure. And when today’s visitors to the town’s new state-of-the-art thermal baths take their plunge, Matteo Thun’s transparent design establishes a continuum between indoors and out, affording them a similar experience: the ultimate in the fitness is visual as well as physical.
Moors have always been mystical places full of secrets and drifting moods. The specific characteristic of such a genius loci served as the central design inspiration for noa*’s (network of architecture) project, which entailed the redesign and extension of the former “Moarhof” hotel at the end of the Valser valley, which is surrounded by moorland at about 1,300m altitude.
The result of this mystical transformation is the 4-star-S Hotel “Silena”. With its’ swamp-coloured, organically angular and integration into the landscape, it appears to be growing out of the unstable ground as a place of tranquillity, strength and soul, designed down to the smallest detail. The surrounding archaic nature as well as the southeast-asian touch of the interior and the extensive accompanying program, which was specially requested by the client, were the decisive factors for the final outcome.
The project started as 3 identical residences planned for crowded family members to live together with a Traditional Turkish House plan. The houses were designed to include a guest room so as to host guests comfortably besides members of a large family.
Breitenbach Landscape Hotel will have a prominent role linking the hotel activity to the site and local traditions. At the same time, it will gather the best of architecture, design, spa facilities and food culture in the region. It will connect the local character and landscape with new characteristic forms and create a specific architectural expression. The hotel will offer an unusual, comfortable experience in the middle of the French countryside and will answer to the visitors’ desire for quality.
The project consists of a small sauna with dressing room in conjunction with a rest stop at the Leirhol summer farm in Vang, Valdres. It has a primary footprint of approximately five square meters, and a heigth of approximately four and a half meters.
Article source: RICARDO BOFILL TALLER DE ARQUITECTURA
Identification on the part of some members of the Taller de Arquitectura with certain ideas of the Archigram movement, and enthusiasm for experimentation with geometry and its application possibilities to housing, are two factors given tangible form in Kafka’s Castle. This apartment building, on a hill overlooking the bay of Sitges, is fruit of the clustering of cubes around nuclei of vertical circulation. Each cube contains a minimalist environment: living-dining room or bathroom-bedroom, articulated on different levels. The color of the façades, chosen from a range of blues, expresses the intention to merge the building with its natural background, the sky.
The project is located in Hemingzhou Hotspring Resort & Spa, which is far away from the hustle and bustle in cities. The developer targets at building an ideal resort for ecological recuperating and refining one’s mind and body.
The designers believe that the life should be of high quality in addition to a variety of experiences. Everyone should have a wonderful life.
Sauna bathing is an essential part of Finnish culture and national identity. There are only 5,4 million Finns but 3,3 million saunas. Public saunas used to be common in bigger cities but now that most new apartments have sauna of their own, public saunas have decreased dramatically in number. There are only a couple remaining. As a sense of community is becoming a more and more important part of new urban culture, many new public saunas are being planned. With Löyly (meaning the steam that comes when you throw water on hot stones in a sauna) Helsinki will offer foreign visitors a public sauna experience all year round – a must when visiting Finland.
The sauna is located on top of a rock which rises 200 meters above sea level. You reach the sauna along a little path through a cornfield, which leads to a sheltered terrace. The walk up to the sauna is part of the purification process.
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