In September 2016, as part of the London Design Festival, the (Zaha Hadid-designed) Roca London Gallery hosted an exhibition curated by Jane Withers that showcased a series of contemporary bathing projects and an archive exploring ancient bathing rituals.
'Communal bathing culture is experiencing a global revival,' reports Jane
Dezeen Magazine reports : Withers has travelled around the world to visit a wide variety of 20th century and contemporary bathhouses and saunas. In the last few years she has noticed a huge surge in popularity, with many new projects being built.
'In the latter part of the 20th century bathing went behind closed doors and turned away from the community,' she quoted 'But now people are beginning to rediscover old bathing traditions.'
According to Withers, many bathhouses have been used to revive communities, with examples including Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals in Switzerland and the recently completed sauna in Gothenburg, Sweden, by Raumlabor.
You can imagine what the Soak and Steam parts dove into... I particularly liked the Dream part, summarized by 'Spa Rules '
1 High Experience > Low Cost / Bathers must be able to afford to use the spa regularly
2 Mass Relaxation / Warning : this is a communal experience area
3 Connection / Use your senses and explore the rooms through touch, sound and smell
4 Get Lost / Explore the sparsely sunlit building as you navigate the semi religious atmosphere
5 Outside In / Bathers are encouraged to relax in the elements
6 Laughter & Camaraderie / You must relax and discover your lighter side
'I think it will be quite slow moving for people to get their heads around a bathhouse as an alternative form of cultural and social space, but I think it certainly is beginning to happen' - JW
Thank you Jane, for this beautiful celebration of bathhouse culture, helping plant the seed for a revival...
