Assignment 2 Final Submission

This bath house proposal is all about the scientific approach to bathing. It is especially designed for athletes to come and recover their muscles after a workout. This is achieved through various types of baths (hot, warm, cold, ice and steam) and different salts in the water. By incorporating the three elements of H2O (solid, liquid and gas) into the bathing experience, the athlete is able to be super cleansed.

The structure of the bath house has been inspired by Louis Kahn's architecture. Features of Kahn's architecture that have been incorporated are the large hollow columns which are occupiable, the natural lighting that comes into the interior spaces, and the symmetry of the building.

Before entering this bath house, athletes are able to work out at the outdoor gym which is located in front of the entrance. The entrance area includes showers, a toilet, lockers, chairs and tables, and a storage area to keep the towels, soaps and salts. The main bathing area is then accessed using an elevator. The elevator is able to accommodate the disabled athletes.

The main bathing area includes four baths (hot, warm, cold, and ice) as well as a drying area at the back which overlooks Zone D. The occupant is led through a series of corridors to each bath before they arrive at the second elevator which leads to the dry area at the top. The hot bath is located closest to the first elevator as being in hot water opens up the pores for the cleansing experience. Thus the ice bath is located closest to the second elevator as the cold will close them up again.

The final level includes a sauna, a lounge area where people can eat and drink, and an outdoor balcony for drying.

The natural lighting comes from a series of holes in the walls and the roofs. The north and south walls have bricks that have been cut out of the structure to let light into the baths. The roofs of the main bathing area are adjustable louvers that allow light in at any angle, while the roof of the entrance is almost completely glass. These holes also exposes the athlete to a certain degree.

Elevation:

Plans:

Sections:

Site Plan:

1:50 Presentation Model:

1:200 Mass Model:

Google Sketchup Images:

Initial Proposals

Proposal 1:

Proposal 2:

Precedent Studies: Louis Kahn

For this assignment, the inspiration comes from the works of Louis Kahn. The initial exercise to familiarise ourselves with Kahn's work was a model making exercise. We had to model Kahn's De Vore House.

Assignment 2: Bath House

Program


To design a place for public bathing. Different approaches to rituals and protocols of bathing have often been discussed in relation to various traditional cultural settings. For example the bathing rituals of Arabic, Turkish, Roman and Japanese traditions are very different from each other and different again to the five minute shower common across most cultures today. For the purposes of this project we propose a focus on Roman bath houses, as a source of influence. You are encouraged to undertake research concerning Roman bathing practices and bathing spaces made to adequately house them. The bathing room should accommodate one person alone to no more than six people together at a time. The facilities should provide for hot as well as cold baths. The bathing areas can be conceived of as internal as well as external areas. Separate female/male use of the bathhouse would be arranged for alternative days - eg. females on Mondays, males on Tuesdays etc - do not provide separate male and female areas/facilities. You can assume that the use of the bathing room will generally be pre-booked, but it should also accommodate un-booked use. The procedure could be something like this: Make a booking at the pub across the street; pay and pick up a key; arrive and unlock the bath house; towels, soap etc. would be ready -having been delivered by someone beforehand, and used towels etc. removed sometime afterwards; bathe; leave used towels and rubbish in bins; lock up behind you – if you think of an alternative procedure, by all means use it – but make it explicit.


Consider issues, constraints and opportunities such as:
• The body - its disposition, dimensions and scale, posture, movement, senses and implications for selecting and locating different types of materials in the space.
• Articulation of ‘wet’ areas, ‘dry’ areas, ‘hot’ areas, ‘cold’ areas; the process of moving between and across them during bathing; their implications for materials and connections.
• Privacy - individual and communal. Provide places and adequate equipment, fixtures and fittings for the following:
• Arrival, gathering, undressing, hanging/storing clothes and personal belongings, picking up towels etc.
• One small toilet, and one small basin for hand washing
• Cleaning/showering with soap, sponge etc.
• Bathing, relaxing in the baths, chatting.
• Stretching out in the sun after bathing.
• Drying.
• Getting dressed, returning used towels, leaving.


Limits
Limits are generally as for the last project;
• The entire area of zone C is to be considered as a private zone to accommodate the bathhouse and associated outdoor facilities and spaces. Allow for a maximum internal area of 70 meters squared, you are required to consider the use and character of zone D within your overall design strategy.
• The bath and surrounding steps/ledges may be reinforced concrete and/or rendered brickwork and/or tiles.

Assignment 1 Final Submission

I tried to incorporate Mies' ideas into my design through the bigger open spaces at the front of the design and the smaller concise spaces at the back. The map maker is guided through the building from the front to the back through one specific path.

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The stairs to enter the studio hold up the cantilevered front part of the building while also acting as an interactive area for the public to commute and sit around. The building steps down every few meters and I wanted to continue the dramatic stepping down through the stairs to connect the building more to the site.

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The entrance area can be utilised as an entertainment area for the map maker to entertain his guests. It can also be used as a quiet reading area as the bookshelf is located here. As you move up to the next part of the building you enter the more enclosed working area where the map makers tables and working walls are located. The back area consists of the toilet, storage, kitchenette, and a quite office for the map maker. All these areas are small compact spaces. Finally the back area leads to the outdoor private area. This area overlooks into the garden in Zone D.

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I have tried to minimise the amount of windows that are used. The windows have been placed in this way to only allow the specific amounts of light that is needed in each room. The brick construction is a double brick cavity wall all around the building. The internal walls are only single skin however.

Plan:

Section 1:

Section 2:

Site Plan:

Google Sketchup Images:

Initial Proposals

Proposal 1:

Proposal 2:

Proposal 3: