Nominee | Interior Design | 2011
Thermalbad & Spa Zürich
In the former Hürlimann brewery – one of the most important industrial monuments of the city – the first thermal baths in Zurich have just been opened. The bathing complex extends over an area of 3200 m2, both in the imposing subterranean vaults and on the widely visible roof of what was once the brewing room. The structurally given tension between the altogether inward-looking spaces deep in the rock and the outwardly expanding world of the roof baths was one of the principal themes in the development of this dramatic architectural design. These atmospheric contrasts have been encapsulated in the spatial conception, and are repeatedly reflected in the existing substance of the listed building.
Comments of the nominators
The procedure followed by the planners is clear to see: they simply laid bare what was found extant, down to the lowest historically layers, and then added what was new in a distinctively recognisable style. The project owes its strengths to the contrasts that result – rough against delicate, old against new.
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