Spring Break is over and I didn't have time to go anywhere. Summer vacation is comming soon and all I can think of is I WANT TO REST! My last year of college is almost over so my mind flies far far away wondering Where would I go if I had the money? I think the answer is simple, there are a lot of places I want to visit (if i had the money ofcouse!) but the first would be without any doubt, Therme Vals, wich is an hotel/spa complex in Vals, built over the only thermal spring in the Graubünden canton in Switzerland.
In the 1960s a German property developer, Karl Kurt Vorlop, built a hotel complex with over 1,000 beds to take advantage of the naturally occurring thermal springs and the source, which provides the water for Valser mineral water, sold throughout Switzerland. After the developer went bankrupt, the village of Vals bought up the five hotels in the development in 1983 and resolved to commission a hydrotherapy centre at the centre of the five hotels, at the source of the thermal springs.
Peter Zumthor was selected as architect for the spa, and the facility was built between 1993 and 1996. The site owners asked the architect to design the building between the 5 hotels complex in a way it wouldnt disturb the view of the surroundings. So he decided to create a form of cave or quarry structure, using the natural stone slabs from the area half buried into the hillside with a grass roof structure wich makes it look like it was always there, even before the hotels were built.
The spa was planned for visitors to rediscover the ancient benefits of bathing. The interior is designed in a way the combination of natural and artificial light and shades, textures, scents, water temperature, and open and enclosed spaces, offer a highly sensuous and restorative experience.
If you are interested here is a documental about the complex, with the architect concepts and great images.
