THERMAL BATHS
..At the end of the lake , looking for a
big stone, shrouded in fog..
The impressive erratic boulders, and the glacial water of the lake, coming from the Ice Age Period, characterize the topography of the site. A new artificial stone grows out from the earth, communicating with the original granite blocks, and turning towards both the water and the horizon.
Thus the design establishes an intimate relationship between man and nature, between materials and space.
A Water Temple.
The spaces facing the outside are developed around a central void, right where the path of thermal baths unrolls all around.
A large tank, based on the ancient rock, becomes the big outdoor pool.
Inside monolithic blocks emerge and either sink into the watercreating, at different levels, the aquatic path of the thermal baths.
The central pool works as the core of the building, and the‘ water contained can be regulated to create different relationships with the surrounding spaces.
The internal path of the tanks is an ascendent promenade culminating into a stair that emerges from the bowels of the mountain passing through the water and getting lost on the fading line of the horizon.
The building becomes thus the landscape, and the steam rising from the hot thermal water empowers the atmosphere with magic.
