Warmbad Villach, Austria : Architecture Information

thermal bath - Warmbad Villach, Austria the next ENTERprise The site is situated at the center of the Warmbad Villach Thermal Bath complex. Warmbaderstraße and the railroad running parallel to it form its Eastern border. photos : Lukas Schaller The existing conglomerate of Hotel Karawankenhof, apartment block and thermal bath is broken by decoupling the new thermal bath building. With this the bath gains in prominence, as required in the brief, while the appearance of Karawankenhof and apartment blocks are also markedly improved. Our design for an introverted, vertical bathing landscape was prompted by the fact that the outdoor areas next to the site are not very attractive. Our proposal re-positions the thermal bath through its distinctive spatial atmosphere, one that entices users to promenade in a varied bathing landscape. Attractions add a lively component to the individually characterized spaces and heighten their atmospheric qualities. Towards the North and East the building is contained by an L-shaped volume, housing most of the infrastructure and the spa area. The L's outline is dissolved by its intersection with the volume of the vertical bathingscape, opening sightlines from the relaxation rooms to the water spaces. rendering: Franz Stibli When entering the building our idea was to convey the impression of looking into a flooded space, a first glimpse of the variety to come in the bathingscape. Two vertical elements, the 'gorge' and the 'stairway to heaven' define its spatial structure. The top of the volume tapers off into two funnel-shaped light-catching elements. A softly-contoured facade delimits the volume towards the South-West, where the topography of the bathingscape extends fluidly to the exterior terrain.

UN Studio Architects