Liep?ja Thermal Bath

Abstract

Liepa?ja Thermal Bath is a proposal for a hotel and bathing complex on the coast of the Baltic Sea in western Latvia. Envisioned as a solid rectangular prism punctured by a series of spherical voids of various sizes, the project evolved from an interest in classical precedent and the prevalence of domes within the public bath typology. While inspired by history, the project attempts to avoid postmodern citation of classical form through processes of multiplication and intersection, deliberately undermining the singularity of the dome in favor of a non-hierarchical, unfamiliar, and labyrinthine spatial atmosphere. Though based upon precedent, the outcome is deliberately playful; within the confines of our office this project has always been referred to as “bubble bath”. The project seeks to produce spatial qualities that can simultaneously conjure memories of something so enduring and monumental as a classical dome and so transitory and delicate as a soap bubble.