Fortyseven is a novel thermal wellness spa designed by the architect Mario Botta, nestled alongside the Limmat River in Baden, Switzerland. Baden, renowned for its rich cultural and wellness offerings, boasts a spa heritage that extends over thousands of years. The Fortyseven Thermal Wellness Spa has revitalized this historical legacy by presenting wellness culture through a modern lens. Designed by Mario Botta, this project offers an immersive encounter for the body, mind, and soul. The essence of the site and its design is captured by the lens of architectural photographer Paul Clemence, in his latest series.
The basis of the project lies around the availability of local thermal water, Switzerland’s mineral-rich element, at a natural temperature of 47 Degrees Celsius. The 160-meter-long structure is cladded with a natural stone façade, from which finger-link openings reach into the sky. Furthermore, the building creates a seamless visual transition from the urban quarter to the organic riverfront. The thermal baths overlook the old town to the south, highlighting the passage of time around the bathing culture, and the complex is filled with various indoor and outdoor pools with different temperatures.
Apart from the pools, saunas, and treatment rooms, the program includes a bar, restaurant, café, and garden bistro for the summer months. On the eastern side of the wellness facility lies the residence, which acts as a rehabilitation clinic: Residenz47. Stairs connect both sites on the street level, with a new promenade along the river. Residenz47 takes on an unconventional form, incorporating trapezoid structures overlooking the opposing shore of the river. The upper levels house residential units and clinic spaces, while the ground levels host spa-related facilities. This building is also wrapped in the same stone and marble to showcase the unity between the two.
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Shigeru Ban Architects Designs Wellness Retreat in JapanI believe architecture is inseparably linked to two territories: one which is physical, given by the geographic context with which the work must interact, and another that is mental, represented by memory, from which architecture derives its knowledge and engages, through a continuous given and take relationship, its own contemporary state with the great themes of the past. –Mario Botta
The scheme is initially designed in and around a dialogue with the river. In fact, the large rocks placed along the river are the thermal baths themselves, visually linked to their surrounding landscape. The baths feature a glazed window that runs along three sides of each structure, where the role of the river cannot be understated. Each thermal bath structure boasts a skylight in the direction the volume is gesturing to, capturing light reflections of the river.
Architectural photography is a powerful medium that tells the narrative of a building through carefully thought-out frames affected by time, light, shadow, and surrounding conditions. Last week, the URBAN Photo Award 2023 announced its list of Finalist Photographers, containing a collection of over 70 single photos. Many artists and photographers have captured architectural classics and retold their stories in exciting ways. Photographer Bahaa Ghoussainy recently captured OMA’s Prada Foundation in Milan in his new photo series, while Photographer Iwan Baan has just released “Prague Diary,” a raw and unedited version of his personal experience of the city.
