Hasta La Ideas

Colourful ceiling mosaics mark areas for different activities at this thermal spa in Vienna by 4a Architekten of Stuttgart.

Therme Wien is located in the city’s spa gardens surrounded by outdoor pools.

Inside, the diving area and water park are marked out by blue and white ceiling tiles, dark autumnal colours are above pool one while the foyer and second pool have bright contrasting colours.

Softer neutrals and browns predominate in the relaxation areas.

Here are some more details from 4a Architekten:

New Construction of the “Therme Wien” Spa, Vienna

It’s all about flow

A landscape experience for all the senses – the new Vienna spa offers visitors a varied programme from adventure to relaxation.

Nestling in the spa gardens of Vienna Oberlaa, Austria’s largest spa resort invites visitors to enjoy a special relaxing experience with a varied range of pools, rest areas, gastronomic and beauty facilities.

The driving force behind the design concept of this new spa resort is nature itself: the central motif is a stream that winds and washes through and around stones, becoming sometimes narrower, sometimes wider. 4a Architekten have succeeded in shaping a unique multisensory bathing landscape with this inspiration in mind. The starting point is one of two thermal springs.

The building follows its course in a meandering topographical flow, downwards towards the south, washing over and around individual “theme stones” that project like large river pebbles from the roof landscape. The spa ensemble, which reaches three storeys at its highest point, fits in perfectly with its surroundings, and its sunbathing lawns form a gentle transition between the various outdoor pools and the surrounding park.

Only the health centre, which opened in January, sets a striking signal with its five storeys and dynamic form at the entrance. The visitor enters via the mouth of the stream, where the foyer is located, and follows the path downstream, past the assorted “theme stones” towards the spring itself. The path widens and narrows, surprising the visitor with different scenarios and perspectives, repeatedly arousing his curiosity as to what might be hiding around the next corner.

Bands of light set in places in the flooring relate sympathetically with the motif of the stream. A variety of water attractions create further highlights: sometimes flowing like a gentle curtain down a wall or bubbling and splashing into cascading pools. The path towards the spring first passes the beauty stone, widening towards thermal area 1, tapering towards the gorge between the relaxation and adventure stones, opening again towards thermal bath 2, and finally ending in the sauna landscape.

Each area has a unique atmosphere all of its own. Colour, material and light concepts underline the spatial choreography. The basis for the main area is created by soft shades of white, beige and grey in the form of ceramic tiling and concrete surfaces on the floors and walls. Colourful effects are provided by the ceiling, for which 4a Architekten developed their own four-season colour concept.

Grey vernal shades emphasize the lively character of the foyer and the bright thermal bath 2 in the form of a ceiling mosaic. By contrast, gentler autumnal shades predominate in thermal bath 1, which leads on to the active hall and beauty area. The uniform wooden-strip ceiling below the galleries soothes the eye while simultaneously functioning as an acoustic ceiling that dampens noise from the surrounding area. Shades of summer prevail in the dining areas.

No multiplicity of colours is used in the relaxation stone. Soft cappuccino shades on the walls, a dark wooden floor and a friendly lighting mood create a warm atmosphere in the relaxation areas on the gallery. The same earthy colour scheme also sets the tone for the subjacent relaxation and saltwater pools.

It is only in the grotto pool that dark plaster and similar ceramic tiling create a cave-like atmosphere, reinforced by the subdued and accentuated lighting. Water in all its clarity and vitality awaits the visitor in the adventure stone located opposite. Its turbulent inner life, containing slides, a white-water channel, an adventure pool and a water play park is reflected in the fresh blue and white shades of the ceiling mosaic, inspired by the wintry Polar Sea.

The diving platform with its accompanying pool is reminiscent of a bizarre rocky landscape from which the diving platforms project. There is a lively exchange here between interior and exterior. The scene is completed by the sauna area. Here too, colourfulness and materiality are kept in alignment with users’ requirements. The mixed area on the ground floor is dominated by glass-mosaic tiles in warm earthy shades, the walls being panelled in oak. The women’s area on the upper floor is kept in delicate shades: bright maple panelling, pink glass mosaic and an eggshell-coloured floor. The men’s sauna stands in direct contrast with its dark floor, bright red glass mosaic and dark wood.

The playful handling of space and sensitivity for the user is characteristic of 4a Architekten. Each of the worlds of experience at “Therme Wien” is given the architecture and atmosphere that suits it best, with high, wide, usually two-storey rooms in the livelier areas, and low rooms in the rest areas which convey a feeling of security. Everything is supported individually by light and colour. Visitors are offered the experience of a varied bathing landscape which they can enjoy with all their senses – and which they return to again and again.

Property Details

Location: Therme Wien GmbH & Co KG, Kurbadstrasse 14, A 1100 Vienna

Client: VAMED Standortentwicklung & Engineering
Architect: 4a Architekten GmbH
Matthias Burkart
Alexander von Salmuth
Ernst Ulrich Tillmanns

Andreas Ditschuneit (overall project management)
Torsten Hannig (health centre project management)

Competition Team:
Tanja Otte
Laura Staib
Lâle Gündog

Project Team:
Holger Buchheim
Annette Broos
Barbara Croonenberg
André Georg
Kathrin Hauth
Stephanie Hönn
Izabella Hüttig
Anja Cathrin Maurer
Sibylle Müller
Natascha Ockert
Tanja Otte
Artur Pauli
Marco Petters
Christoph Schäfer
Martin Schweizer
Laura Staib
Konstanze Stosberg

Landscape: 4a Architekten GmbH together with Stötzer-Stötzer
Site supervision: VAMED Standortentwicklung & Engineering
Building physics: Dr. Pfeiler GmbH
Bath water technology: Plankenauer GmbH

Structural planner:
Fischer + Friedrich, Project management Jörg Kazmaier
Toms Ziviltechniker GmbH, Project management, Josef Vock

Subsoil: Garber Dalmatiner and Partner
Interior engineering – sanitary: Firma Ortner
Interior engineering – heating/ventilation
Siemens Bacon GmbH &Co KG
Electrical planning: Siemens ELIN
Lighting design: Philips Licht, Light Design Austria
Kitchen design : Stria
Fire protection: Prüfstelle for Brandschutztechnik
Channel planning: igbk Ziviltechniker GmbH

Planning period 06/2006 until 09/2010
Construction period 10/2007 until 05/2011
Construction costs approx 115 million euro
Gross floor area 64,000 m2
Gross cubic volume 325,000 m3
Water surfaces 3,800 m2

See also:

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Les Bains des Docks by Jean Nouvel	Open Air Pool Eybesfeld by Pichler & Traupmann	Tamina Thermal Baths by Smolenicky & Partner