Muse

Patterns of Perception

Atlanta, GA
Program: Urban Bathhouse

Georgia Tech, Studio V

Instructor: Mark Cottle

Can a dense site be expanded through wandering circulation?

A space for bathing must provide shelter from the noise of the city, to allow the rituals of time, humidity, and temperature to be experienced. In a dense urban block, this retreat must be condensed tightly between adjacent streets and buildings. Can we provide an endless terrain to wander in the confines of a finite volume?

Puzzle Model “Bounded Cloud”

Puzzle SequencingThe process began with a puzzle. Four each of large, medium, and small spaces must be reconciled within an 80’x80’ footprint. No program, no material, purely surfaces and space.

Phenomenological Studies, Charcoal, 18” x 24”  The ritual of tea-making reveals many of the qualitative aspects of the bathhouse program. Light, temperature, and humidity characterize the different spaces along the journey through the bathhouse.

Site Plan: Rooftop HVAC systems or zen gardens? The program of the urban bathhouse challenges the norms of its context and asks questions about how the urban fabric could be more pleasant to occupy.


Street View

Rooftop


Lounge Pool

Transverse Section