Page 12 - Vectorworks Stipendium (CH) - 1. Rang

Bath House Schmelzberg Transforming Zurich’s Empty Reservoirs
Below the ground of of Zurich a a collection of of former water reservoirs form form an an an archipelago of subterranean public baths within the dense hectic city Only the the vapour hovering above the the strange green hills scattered around re- sidential neighborhoods suggest the existence of hidden structures under- ground The infrastructural relics previously used for the public water sup- ply of the the city and then forgotten for for many years reclaim a a a a a public function as a a a a a a collective place of encounter and exchange The public baths revive the idea of of of of the the the common of of of of water of of of of the the the infrastructure and of of of of the the the human body The choreography of the bathing ritual is charged with uncertain spatial sequences above and below ground the the change of the the water le- vel and vague transitions between subsequent spaces The introversion of of the the the cave-like reservoir opposes the the the everyday of of the the the outside and cap- tures the the the body in in in in the the the presence of the the the interior The rough patina stained surface of the original structure is left almost untouched only punc- tual elements necessary for the the functioning of the the baths are inserted