The Thermal Bath in Vals is an artificial “cave” created by Peter Zumthor. The concept behind the project is to build architecture that becomes part of its surrounding environment: mountain, forest and river. One would walk through a maze of stone modules when going through the building. Smaller baths are concealed inside of the “stones” while bigger baths spread between them. The building is heavy and the views are controlled. “Stone” is not only its facade material but also its atmospheric language.

 

However, the Thermal Bath in Vals is not honest in terms of its tectonics. Peter Zumthor aims to create a compressive atmosphere through the heavy stone walls, while the structure is really standing in tension. Large areas of the roof are cantilevered from the walls, and their strength depends on the thin metal cables inside of the concrete.

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Therefore, the intervention strategy for this part of the project is to expose its true structural system by replacing the concrete walls with glass panels, and showing the metal cable tensile system within. The Thermal Bath is no longer a “stone cave,” its edges and walls are lightened through this intervention of transparency.