Het rituele badlandschap

: reinigen in een regionaal verbonden badhuis

Abstract

Is it possible to design a bathing house based on the elements of the environment. This was the main question that I tried to answer in this graduation project. This as a response to the many wellness centers that a build nowadays. Luxury and comfort is the main focus in these bathing houses but there is always a lack with the direct environment. These wellness centers are designed based on a uniform wellness images which becomes a standard in the wellness scene in the Netherlands. As a response to this phenomen I designed a bathing house based on the elements "genius loci" of the spot. A bath which is grounded in its context. The site for this bathing house will be the floodplain near the junction of the Rhine in the Waal and channel of Pannerden. The Rhine had changed dramatically over the years and eventually controlled by digging the channel of Pannerden by hand. At the moment there are plans to give this river more "space "again. To show it's roughness and natural habitat again. This development plan drawn up by the government , or ` space for the rivers '. Clay, sand, water, flooding and brick ovens are part of this area near the river. These elements are the basis for this ritual bathing house. It's not only a building on it's own but the environment is part of the ritual bathing route as well. After the 'oven' where the ritual starts, the route continues to the claybaths, cleaning bath and the sand baths. The ritual ends in a silence pavilion. The criticism of the current state of the globalizing architecture leads to a uniform superficial identity of the world citizen on one side. As a reaction on this global identity people try to search for an identity. In this bathing house you will find your personal identity in the natural elements. A place- progressive architecture approach should lead to a recognizable architecture for people. To use they elements of the nature people should feel connected to this bathing house and to the spot. This project shows how to deal with natural elements in the environment and how to use them in a bathing house which is connected to the environment.

Date of Award	30 Sept 2013
Original language	Dutch
Supervisor	J.P.T. Dekkers (Supervisor 1), S.P.G. Moonen (Supervisor 2) & J.J.P.M. van Hoof (Supervisor 2)