Head Architect: Peter Zumthor

Architects: Tadao Ando, Kengo Kiama, Thom Mayne 

Location: Vals, Switzerland 

Client: Preferred Hotel & Resorts 

The Therme Vals, located in Vals, Switzerland, is intricately designed. When approaching this building one can find a detailed and well crafted thermal spa within the hotel that is bundled into the Swiss Alps. The hotel and thermal spa was designed by four Pritzker Prize winning architects from various countries located around the world. The main architect was Peter Zumthor of Peter Zumthor & Partner AG who is from Basel, Switzerland. Peter attended the Pratt institute of Architecture in Brooklyn, New York and later founded his firm in 1979 (1). Over time his firm slowly began to become quite esteemed. In fact, his firm began to quickly accept various overseas projects. Although it was quite a small firm -- and still is to this day having only 30 or so people working in his studio -- he is one of today's most esteemed names in architecture. Also, the other architects who helped design the luxurious  spa are Tadao Ando, Kengo Kuma and Thom Mayne. Tadao Ando is from Osaka, Japan and is a self taught architect. He has designed spaces all over the world, most of which are daylight oriented. Kengo Kuma is an esteemed writer and architect from Yokohama, Japan; his work can be seen all over Asia and in certain parts of Europe.Lastly, Thom Mayne is an American architect from Connecticut and co-founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture.

In addition to this, when designing the baths each architect was able to express their vision freely starting with one of the on site hotels being named as the ‘House of Architects’. When designing their rooms they each chose to incorporate a specific look to show their unique styles whilst also incorporating a look at their cultural backgrounds. For instance, the ‘ANDO’ suite’s were designed to resemble a traditional Japanese Teahouse by incorporating sliding doors in the bathroom. The sleeping areas walls, floor, and ceiling are lined with wood. Then, there is a white accent wall and a floor to ceiling glass window with a door leading to a small balcony overlooking the breathtaking Swiss Alps. Ando felt that he should incorporate a japanese aesthetic into his work while making use of the Swiss country(2). Then, Kuma deemed his suits the name ‘Oak Cocoon’ because as stated in the name his design used Oak panels. The Oak panels were used to curve at one side of the room making it envelope over the bed. His rooms are also equipped with a large glass bathroom, a glass wall, and door bringing you to, yet another, outdoor balcony(3). Next, Thom Mayne had a different approach from his three partners. Different from the rest he decided to make the shower his focal point for his rooms. Upon entering either ‘Mayne Wood’ or ‘Mayne Stone’ there is a very unique design to the rooms; the shower is prompted to look as if it's “an organic sculpture” with the bathroom behind the oval looking shower panes. Then, the two walls and ceiling are panelled three-dimensionally with Swiss wood making the entire room an experience of a lifetime(4). 

Lastly, Zumthor's suits were relatively the most normal in design except for his use of Stucco Lustro, a plastering technique originating from the Italian renaissance. His rooms, although most relaxed, are nonetheless complex and thoroughly crafted matching his unique style(5). Each of their rooms are accompanied with a balcony and an entire wall of glass at the far end of their entrance ways. This then allows a generous amount of natural light to enter these rooms. The glass walls allowed the architects to move freely in the spaces with their designs because of the bountiful daylight seeping through the suits. The entire site consists of three hotels and the spa; the two other hotels on the property are the 7132 Hotel and the 7132 Gunner (6).  

The 7132 Hotel is a modern luxury hotel connected directly to the baths. This pristine hotel accommodates groups upward of two unlike the ‘Architects House’ which only rooms two per suit. The 7132 Gunner is a Swiss Alp classical hotel that looks right of a tourism catalogue. In fact, it has more a rustic feel to it and seems to attract the people coming to Switzerland to view the scenery rather than looking for a luxury spring to bathe in. The baths are very large and incredibly spacious (7). So spacious that there are seven pools that are each designed for a unique use. The uses of these pools range from indoor to outdoor, ice cold to very hot, and some have a mixed array of use depending on the season. Although, the spa itself is beautifully designed and fits perfectly into its surroundings year round. The whole structure is composed of 60,000 slabs of quartzite and was precisely designed to use sunlight as the main source of lighting (8). The spa is a beautiful work of architecture, being that it was co-designed by four Pritzker prize winning architects, it is a very intricate bath house. The idea of using only one type of material makes the spa look like it is almost risen up from its surroundings. Being located in the Alps, the building adds modern minimalism to a place of breathtaking scenery and gives a new perspective for enjoying the natural beauty of the mountains without having to bundle up. Also, the usage of quartzite and having the long slabs hover over pools and lining up the walls makes it look as if you are walking through a thermal spring deep in a mountain. The slite openings across the ceilings and walls leaves room for light to break through, giving an exquisite example as to how an architect and natural light allow each other to manipulate the other. The design specially laid out for daylight to creep its way through the cracks and fading into the room, leaving space for light and shade. Furthermore, this site is an ideal example of good daylight in architecture. 

The unique and intricate details chosen by these four renowned architects work with daylight and compromise their ideas to shine under the light.  

Bibliography:

Figures 1 & 2: The Daylight Award by VELUX Stiftung 2010 [Internet]. The Daylight Award. 2010 [cited 27 October 2020]. Available from: http://thedaylightaward.com/peter-zumthor/

Intext Citations 1 through 8: . 7132 House of Architects - 7132 Hotel Vals [Internet]. 7132.com. [cited 27 October 2020]. Available from: https://7132.com/en/hotels/7132-house-of-architects