The Elusive Iconic Image and the Real Therme Vals

After visiting Swiss Architect Peter Zumthor's baths, I am amazed at how its siting and context is commonly misrepresented as a lone building projecting out from the Swiss landscape. Therefore, I think it is more beneficial to represent the Baths' sensitivity to the town of Vals, Swiss topography, and the individual.

For organizational purposes, I have split this entry into five parts: I. Journey II. Icon III. Reality IV. Experience V. Reflections

I. Journey

To begin, it should be mentioned that Therme Vals is not an easy place to access. To get there, my travel mates and I rode three perfectly-timed trains and one bus from: (1) Lake Como to Zurich (2) Zurich to Chur (3) Chur to Ilanz (4) Ilanz to Vals (this should be noted as a death-defying windy busride with a lot of locals and a very dramatic horn used for every blind/curvy corner, which there are many...). As the trip progressed, I was amazed how each destination became smaller, each transit hub less bustling, and each picturesque landscape less populated. What was more incredible, however, was that the tremendous valleys and ravines we passed were populated at all (and seemingly had been for centuries, as identified by the presence of old churches in the center of each mountain village).

After seven hours of travel sprinkled with conversation regarding our excitement to be in the land of cheese and chocolate(not to mention goats, peace, lederhosen, and Zumthor), upon our "arrival" to Vals I kindly wanted to explain to the driver we were in the wrong place, and could he please take us to the baths???

Luckily I don't speak Swiss German, and as my friends quickly confirmed, we were in the right place.

So here lies the root of my misunderstanding:

Apparently after seeing so many pictures of Zumthor's Bath's, I assumed it was a singular extrusion from one large, perfect green edifice. And why wouldn't I?

II. Icon

I had once again been fooled by the architectural iconic image, a dangerous form of building capture and representation.

More often than not, iconic architectural images are successful in isolating a building's concept. However, I find that the negation of context often leads to a narrow understanding of a built construction. If one wants to show a detailed interior view, why not show a rendering? While powerful and hopefully encompassing of less site-driven building's "concepts," the contextual photo is highly underestimated as a means of understanding the building on a variety of critical levels. Therme Vals is no exception.

III. Reality



So here are some important (and rarely discussed) notes regarding the bath's surroundings and imperative context:

1) the baths are surrounded by a large complex of several hotel buildings built in the 1970's as well as some small commercial plazas and individual cabins
2) my room was evocative of a classy Swiss loveboat, fashioned as a ship's cabin complete with folding beds, a small kitchen, and ample hidden storage...If it weren't mid-fall and I hadn't packed arbitrarily at 3 am the night before my journey, I might have been tempted to wear nautical gear for the entire stay (when I wasn't enjoying my Therme Vals bath robe and slippers).
3) each building connects to the Therme Vals through suspended glass walkways that frame the landscape while evoking a "high-altitude" sensation
4) the roof of the Bath's is covered in green grass that, when overlooked on the Hotel's balcony, seems to blend almost seamlessly with the mountains

IV. Experience

After check-in and a brief exploration of my 1970's pad, my bathrobe-clad trip through the silent, light-filled aerial walkways transitioned into a narrow black passageway of dripping sounds and dancing waters' subtle reflections. What had moments before been Vals' open expanse of nature was now a succession of interior and experiential moments that framed both the landscape as well as the figures' of the bath's participants.

The most resonant architectural experience of the baths is made by the sensation of closure and release, or, depending on your preference, release and then closure; conditions that correspond well with the process of underwater submersion and out-of-water aeration. Each pool of water is meant to offer a unique experience in which the spatial sequence corresponds sensitively to the varied nature of the water and its intended effect on his/her senses. For example, the cold pool (fifty degrees farenheit at all times) is meant to be entered and left quickly, thus is small in size and has a short entryway. In comparison, Zumthor dedicates a significant portion of indoor as well as outdoor space, framed views intended for appreciation and reflection, and a generous sequential approach to the moderate temperature pool, meant to be enjoyed for long periods of exposure.

V. Reflections

On the second day of our stay, Chris and I took a long hike up the mountain and through the town of Leis. This hike was an integral part of the journey, as I would have never understood the source of the baths if I had not navigated their natural topography. After drinking from a cold, mineralized stream as well as observing the gestural cuts of Switzerland's aggressive topography, I was able to understand the aquatic flows and forces above and beneath the muscular mounds of earth and subsequently, above and beneath Zumthor's equally aggressive aquatic leisure machine.