Traditional Baths

Transition is a recurrent element of design that has been weaving itself through "A Place to Dine", and now our bathing project. When there is balance in our lives they seem to run much more smoothly as apposed to an absence of balance. Transition is one of the key elements in obtaining balance in our lives. When one's environment abruptly changes it is stressful and taxing causing ones health spiritually, mentally, and physically to be affected. This is why so many cultures have developed baths, spas, and places for one to be relieved from the stressors of everyday life. Below are some examples of baths that I think best represent what baths are about and what they are to accomplish.
































































"The universal acceptance of bathing as a central event in daily life belongs to the Roman world and it is hardly an exaggeration to say that at the height of the empire, the baths embodied the ideal Roman way of urban life. Apart from their normal hygienic functions, they provided facilities for sports and recreation. Their public nature created the proper environment—much like a city club or community center—for social intercourse varying from neighborhood gossip to business discussions. There was even a cultural and intellectual side to the baths since the truly grand establishments, the thermae, incorporated libraries, lecture halls, colonnades, and promenades and assumed a character like the Greek gymnasium".

"After exercise, bathers would have the dirt and oil scraped from their bodies with a curved metal implement called a strigil. Then the bathing proper began. Accompanied by a slave carrying their towels, oil flasks and strigils, bathers would progress at a leisurely pace through rooms of various temperature. They might start in the warm room (tepidarium), which had heated walls and floors but sometimes had no pool, and then proceed to the hot bath (caldarium), which was closest to the furnace. This room had a large tub or small pool with very hot water and a waist-high fountain (labrum) with cool water to splash on the face and neck. After this the bather might spend some time in the tepidarium again before finishing in the cold room (frigidarium) with a refreshing dip in the cold pool. Other rooms provided moist steam, dry heat like a sauna (laconicum), and massage with perfumed oils.
model of baths of Trajan

After their baths, patrons could stroll in the gardens, visit the library, watch performances of jugglers or acrobats, listen to a literary recital, or buy a snack from the many food selections."
www.vroma.org


"More than any other culture in the world, the Japanese enjoy soaking. In Japan , the term misogi means purification by water. It is an integral part of their society, utilizing Japan's thousands of natural hot springs and spas. Water cleanses, refreshes and relaxes, and it gives a sense of well being to the spirit and mind".

www.shojiretreats.com