PUBLIC BATH HOUSE

ADVANCED DESIGN | SPRING '15

We live in a highly connected world, yet somehow, consumed by devices and individualistic desires, most communities are more disconnected then ever. 

This public bathhouse in the heart of downtown Austin, embodies a sense of public space that undertakes communal revival, in which interaction is promoted and where social, racial and demographic boundaries are lost. Embedded in the natural landscape it inhabits, this building emerges from the ground providing both enclosed and open spaces with both highly public and somewhat private programs. 

This variety of experiences is emphasized with the placement of buildings in plan, derived from a field system, that provides disconnected, non hierarchical elements. This system creates a democratic landscape within the natural landscape, where space -the in between- become as part of the project as the built landscape. This organization insures non descriptive circulation, where paths intersect, thus ensuring interaction.

The materials in this project , further carry out both the programmatic and experiential desires. Concrete is used for the enclosed, more private programs, which are directly embedded in the ground. The interior of these spaces have a stereotomic quality, with controlled light. Wood, which directly emerges from the concrete, is used for the open, more public programs. The dapple lightacts as a tree canopy, providing shade while still providing direct contact with the surrounding environment.