The mineral thermal bath Keidel is a project that consists of several building extensions and renovations of spaces and infrastructural components that relate to existing indoor swimming pools and saunas located in Freiburg am Breisgau, next to the dense and evergreen Black Forest.
The design approach took into consideration spatial and formal relationships set by the existing building and nature. Compact structures have been developed having as guidelines the optimal use of space and the careful consideration of the urban context.
The Outdoor Sauna
The outdoor sauna, planned as a further attraction in the sauna garden, is a building that surrounds a natural pond and is strongly tied to its landscape. To maximize built space with a minimal footprint, the terrain is split into two levels. A green berm, underneath which support program is being placed, brings the user to a cantilevered platform where the infusion sauna is located. That continuous green surface is intended to be conceptually perceived as the ground of the upper floor, giving the impression of a one-story building and allowing for appropriations of the concept of an earth sauna relating to earth. A continuous metal ribbon connects the two floors staging this transition of landscape to façade. The top volume is being detailed as elevated and detached from the space under it, which is expressed as a long retaining wall supporting the berm and a big ‘occupied column’ containing the earth sauna. Both sauna spaces are oriented towards the picturesque and serene view of the sauna garden.
Freiburg, Germany
completed
2019