The Public Bathhouse: A Convivial Space for Modern Times

In Scotland, close to half of existing swimming facilities are facing closure due to their age and state of disrepair. This decline presents an opportunity to critically reconsider the architectural and social role of collective bathing within the contemporary city, exploring new models such as a contemporary interpretation of the Roman bathhouse in the context of Aberdeen. The project reimagines the public bathhouse as a civic landscape, merging bathing, green space, and a food market to revive its role as a focal point for social and cultural life.

The typology of the Roman public bathhouse, once a cornerstone of society, has largely disappeared across Europe, replaced by swimming halls that often feel sterile and purely utilitarian, lacking the social and cultural richness of their historical predecessors.

In addition to addressing the decline in swimming facilities, Aberdeen City Council has been actively seeking to expand and invest in urban green spaces. However, the limited availability of space in the city centre creates a tension between the need for green infrastructure and the need for public buildings for the community.

The proposed public bathhouse aims to merge public bathing with accessible urban green space, forming a civic landscape rather than an isolated building object. The intention is to create a communal site where individuals can relax, unwind, and connect with others. Alongside the bathing facilities, the complex would also include a tea and reading area for reflection and group reading sessions, fostering a culture of learning that could be carried through into the baths.

Also, the incorporation of a new food market would help connect the site to its historical past as a market, offering a variety of healthy, locally sourced food while creating a place for socialising and nourishment in the vicinity of the bathhouse. Collectively, these spaces may contribute to extending the function of the bathhouse beyond bathing, reintroducing its historical role as a centre of social and intellectual life.

The union and arrangement of these spaces into one communal complex creates a significant architectural challenge in terms of how the spaces connect and function together. From a technological point of view, strategies such as the recovery and redistribution of waste heat, rainwater harvesting, and integrated landscape systems were investigated.