A Catalyst for Renewal

Aranya has been building cultural tourism resorts for the middle to upper-middle class in China and Japan since 2013, promising to look after stressed-out city dwellers in variously themed wellness centers. The project in the Wuling Mountains addresses the theme of hot springs as well as the connection to nature. Several dispersed building clusters have been inserted into the topography over the past few years. 

3 North elevation (c) Liu Guowei/Vector Architects.jpgThe bathhouse is positioned in a complex topographical situation, on a small slope between tall poplar trees and grass-covered rocky ground. The requirement to build on as little ground as possible resulted in the functions being stacked over each other in an unconventional tower. Additionally, the arrival level was left open to ensure that the natural contours of the landscape were untouched, adding to the vertical emphasis of the building volume.

The main ground floor, where the changing rooms with 20 cubicles are located, has relatively few openings to ensure privacy. Usually, only eight pre-registered people are admitted at any one time. The transparent middle level above this contains an open outward-looking lounge area where guests can relax. As this level is at the same height as the canopy of the surrounding poplars, it gives the feeling of being surrounded by trees. In summer, dense green foliage envelops the ‘glass box’, making visitors feel like they are in a fairytale land. The frequent fog in Wulingshan enhances this atmospheric quality.

The water baths are located on the upper level, where vertical light shafts provide connections to the sky. Each of these eight cylindrical light shafts fulfils a specific function. Four have skylights above the water basins to give guests a view of the sky while bathing. These also serve as smoke vents in case of a fire. The other cylindrical shafts serve different purposes, such as an eight-meter-high shower that gives the feeling of standing in the rain, a cold plunge pool and an area for an ice pool.

The bathhouse is built with purpose-treated concrete. The material texture was intended to convey a ‘naturalness’ akin to the context of the surrounding cliffs. To this end, the exterior concrete was hewn by hand to make a surface texture reminiscent of rocks. In the interior, the concrete surface was partly hewn like the outside and partly polished, thereby utilizing the same material to create different surface qualities. As they pass through outside spaces, the columns were given the dimensions of the neighboring tree trunks to reinforce the sense of integration into the existing grove of trees.

The bathhouse is surrounded by dense trees on the east and south sides and is close to a rocky cliff face on the west, which significantly affects daylight conditions. Sunlight is neither abundant nor evenly distributed here. Especially in summer, the area is heavily shaded by the 20 to 30-metre-high poplars. Natural light decreases from the top of the building to the bottom, becoming weaker and weaker near the ground. This permanent twilight state enhances the calming effect and the feeling of being part of nature itself.

The bathhouse in Wulingshan follows Aryana’s concept of establishing a lifestyle brand with unusual, signature architecture that stands out from the general trend and gives it a special position in the market. This has enabled this property development company to successfully market their residential neighborhoods even during a general market downturn. With almost missionary fervor, aesthetic ‘culture’ is celebrated and staged as the bearer of a new way of life, allowing the commissioned architects a freedom that is very rarely offered elsewhere. The apparatus for the wellness bathhouse that Vector Architects has designed shows how the inherent potential of a specific place can be utilized in such a way that visitors can actually dream of new experiences with a feeling of atmospheric renewal; in this instance, among the foliage of the poplars that are commonplace in northern China.