2006 - indoor bath complex - bonnevoie - luxembourg

The large kidney-shaped building was erected directly beside the old baths, the old building was then demolished, an underground garage was built in its place and the site was planted. The location is excellent, about one kilometre from the centre. To preserve the scale in terms of area, the building had to be organised in a relatively compact manner. You enter it from the diagonally incised narrow end, arriving in an entrance hall from where you can proceed directly to the changing rooms or continue on the right to the restaurant.

The brief envisaged a large pool (with spectator stands) that would also be suitable for sporting events, a children’s pool and a large sauna and fitness area. The latter is on the upper floor and even has a generously sized terrace screened from inquisitive gazes.

Planted light wells in the shape of pyramids place delightful accents in the hall area and the restaurant. There is also potential to make a terrace here. Seen from outside this building, with its large areas of glazing on the one hand, and the truly massive, deliberately sliced open, anthracite-coloured exposed concrete (board formwork) on the other, signalises the ambivalence of the situation: it is a light-flooded, urban place where the focus is on leisure and wellness. The touch of luxury that people want to have is provided by the spatial generosity and the materials in the interior – a great deal of wood, mosaic tiles in a palette of carefully harmonised colours and, not to be forgotten, the cheerful colourfulness of the blinds.

Bauherr | Client: Ville de Luxembourg Administration de l’Architecte

Wettbewerb | Competition: 1999
Planungsbeginn | Start of planning: 2001
Baubeginn | Start of construction: 2002
Fertigstellung | Completion: 2006
Nutzfläche | Usable floor area: 2.790 m2
Umbauter Raum | Enclosed volume: 26.882 m3
Freifläche | Outdoor area: 4.170 m2
Landschaftsplaner | Landscape planner: HVP
Projektleitung | Project management: HVP 

Axel Christmann, Peter Zdrenka