Therme Vals 1990-1996
Peter Zumthor
Vals, Haldenstein, Switzerland
The village of Vals served as the client for this project. (1) The village relies on its two economic sectors: agriculture and tourism. Therefore, investing in this project was looked upon as an investment that would bring profit to the village. A municipality commissioned an architectural competition in 1990 and paid for the construction of Zumthor’s design. Zumthor praised the villagers for their openness to experiment with the architecture and their desire to ‘do something special, not something usual’. (1)
THE PROJECT
In the early 20th Century the natural springs in Vals were first utilised as a space for therapeutic bathing. (2) . A hotel was built in the 1960’s to promote tourism and to maximise the profit of the spa. It however was unsuccessful and collapsed after financial failure in the 1980’s.(2) A small municipality took over the running of the hotel and spa and sought to reinvest in the industry. In order to attract more visitors and re-establish the location as a spot for thermal bathing, an architectural competition was held. Peter Zumthor won with his unique design that provided a multi-sensual experience to bathers. Along with the new baths the hotel and spa adopted a new name and is now know as 7132 Therme Vals.
THE ARCHITECT
Swiss architect Peter Zumthor founded his own architectural firm in 1979, which soon grew to international success. He has taught as a architecture professor in numerous universities around the globe including Southern California Institute of Architecture, Technical University of Munich, Harvard Graduate School of Design and Architettura di Mendrisio (3). Today, he lives and works in Handenstein, Switzerland managing a small architectural firm. He is known for his innovative connection of spaces and sensual experiences. His style is distinctly minimalistic and sculptural. He carefully controls all aspects of his designs in order to maximise the experience of the visitor. Some of his most famous projects include Kunsthaus Bregenz (1994) and the Swiss Pavilion for the World Expo 2000 in Hannover (3). He strongly believes that architecture should be treated as an experience and bases his projects around this. Daylight is a tool he utilises to create multisensory atmospheres.
THE LOCATION
Vals is a small agricultural village in the Swiss Alps situated an hour’s drive away from Chur. Above the village, a tributary flows downwards to meet the Rhine River (2). 1,200m above sea level and adjacent to natural hot springs the site is striking in itself. (1) The integration of the architecture and landscape was integral to Zumthor’s design. He uses natural materials native to the Alpine valley: quartzite and water (4). He further connects the two by integrating the project into the landscape, the building embedded in the mountain slope. The hillside slopes down to join with the roof, that acts as a continuation of the green meadow.(2) Situated in the Swiss Alps, Vals experiences cold winters with heavy snowfall. The summers are generally mild and temperate, with high levels of precipitation.(5) Vals experiences high levels of daylight with a prominence of overcast skies.
DAYLIGHT DESIGN
Therme Vals is remarkable in the way in which Peter Zumthor controls daylight. He creates a mystical atmosphere by artfully playing with light and shadow. The baths are dramatic in themselves, steaming water, held in blocks of stone. (4) This is only heightened by Zumthor’s incredible melding of darkness and light. He contrasts misty dimly lit grottos with daylight soaked open zones. Throughout the project light takes on different forms to create a set of experiences. Zumthor dismisses the idea that Architecture should be purely a visual medium and instead creates a multisensory complex. His use of natural light, often through careful control and limitation, allows this to be possible.
The entrance to the baths is through a dark underground tunnel from the hotel. It is the lack of daylight in these subterranean passages that is particularly striking. Lined with stone Zumthor creates the illusion of an underground cave, an idea that is continued throughout the project. (1)
In the main pool the primary focus is on the surface of the water and the play of light. (2). Narrow linear slits in the roof omit bright controlled strips of natural light.(1) This light dapples on the water’s surface, highlighting its clarity. Attention is then drawn to the surrounding stone walls. These large stone slabs are grazed dramatically by the linear skylights. Zenithal light is washed across certain flanks while others remain in shadow. The uneven texture of the quartzite is highlighted in the light and shadow, continuing the cave-like sensation. These fissures of light also outline the form of the internal bathing areas. At least one edge of each stone shaft is marked by a bright stip. This highlights the structure by subdividing the ceiling plan and creating the sensation that each stone shaft supports its own section of the roof.(2).
In another chambre Zumthor decreases the daylight exposure in order to heighten the other senses. The change in light shifts the sense of materiality and texture. The stone flags that line the pool appear smooth and flat. The form and structure becomes less pronounced, the edges barely perceptible. The reduction in daylight forces the bathers to rely on their sense of touch and sound.
This idea continues in the ‘Sound Pool’, where the bather experience almost complete darkness. It is an acoustic chambre with a 6m high ceiling (4). The least reflective of all the pools, the focus is not on the beauty of the space but on the sound of the lapping water and the percussive music coming from hidden speakers.
Contrastingly, the generous use of light in other spaces creates a direct connection with the surrounding landscape. In another bathing pool the water pushes against a tall external window in the wintertime. The summer sees the lower section of the window fall away to allow the bather to flow into a large external bath, soaked in daylight. (2) The external area is artfully constructed to maximise the sunlight intake. It is surrounded on three sides by stone flacks, continuing the ideas from within. These flack break into segments allowing daylight to break through while also framing views of the landscape. The structure breaks away completely on the fourth side to fully expose the pool to the exterior. The external pool is also exposed completely to the sky above. Surrounding the pool are lounging areas for bathers to emerge from the water and dry off and relax in the sun.
Therme Valls presents an outstanding display of the possibilities of daylight. The thin linear skylights allow natural light to penetrate the dark interior spaces. Visual comfort is not the primary focus of Zumthor’s design. In fact, he often limits the intensity of natural light and carefully controls it, so that bathers are forced to focus on their other senses. The splendour of daylight is limited, controlled, and released, becoming a primary design tool in the creation of a mystical atmosphere and sensual experience. The cascading beams of light appear as chinks in a cave and highlight the materiality and wonder of the space within. Zumthor fully releases the aesthetic possibilities of daylight design in this project, contrasts light with shadow to create an all-encompassing experience of space.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Murray S. Material Experience: Peter Zumthor’s Thermal Bath at Vals. 2007;2(3):363–9. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rfss20
2. Building study: Thermal Baths, Vals, Switzerland by Peter Zumthor - ProQuest [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 22]. Available from: https://search-proquest-com.ucd.idm.oclc.org/docview/1080809432?accountid=14507&pq-origsite=summon
3. Peter Zumthor - The Daylight Award [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 22]. Available from: http://thedaylightaward.com/peter-zumthor/
4. Roos A. Swiss Sensibility : The Culture of Architecture in Switzerland / Anna Roos. Swiss Sensibility : The Culture of Architecture in Switzerland. 2017.
5. Vals climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Vals weather averages - Climate-Data.org [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 24]. Available from: https://en.climate-data.org/europe/switzerland/graubuenden-grigioni-grischun/vals-143784/
Map and satellite photograph:
7132 Hotel - Google Maps [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 22]. Available from: https://www.google.ie/maps/place/7132+Hotel/@46.6208191,9.1821844,15z/data=!4m8!3m7!1s0x4784e4a838601dbb:0x12f0eb544f0696f3!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d46.6223232!4d9.1810124
Diagrams:
Climate and average monthly weather in Vals (Grisons), Switzerland [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 22]. Available from: https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine-fahrenheit,vals-grisons-ch,Switzerland
Photographs:
The Therme Vals / Peter Zumthor | ArchDaily [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 22]. Available from: https://www.archdaily.com/13358/the-therme-vals
Peter Zumthor - The Daylight Award [Internet]. [cited 2020 Oct 22]. Available from: http://thedaylightaward.com/peter-zumthor/
