Prost!!!!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Vals


This is the little town of Vals where the Thermal Baths designed by Peter Zumthor are located. Its a town of about 500 people and exudes a sense of serenity and calmness. Its amazingly picturesque!


This is the quintessential image of Vals; A small little cottage next to a beautiful stream.


Daisies are in abundance everywhere in Switzerland and Germany and they grow in small little patches.



I took this picture with my friends digital SLR, and the daylight cooperated with me for about a minute and was able to take this close up of this beautiful flower


The Thermal Baths are nestled against the side of a hill and is cladded in horizontal strips of granite stone.



The windows are strategically place to allow daylight within certain areas of the baths and frame amazing views towards the exterior.




Zumthor creates amazing window details, where the face of the window is completely flush with the exterior face of the stone cladding.










The quality of light inside the baths is very sensual and calming at the same time. It creates and atmosphere that is conducive to relaxing.



Zumthor creates a theme of have penetrating from the edges of the concrete roof slabs, and creates beams of light that change throughout the day.




The architecture creates portals that frame views to the exterior and let the user focus on a specific part of the landscape.


This is inside the steam room. A cone of light pierces the pitch black space, and the room is equipment with a citrus-lavender aroma therapy that completes the whole experience.

6-13-2010


This is one of the churches in Chur,Switzerland. We stayed in Chur before venturing off to Vals


This is another Peter Zumthor building and its a wood shelter protecting some Roman Ruins. The ruins are the low masonry walls at the bottom of the image




This picture was taken on our way the St. Benedict chapel by Zumthor.




Approaching St. Benedict's Chapel


To the right is St. Benedicts chapel. It's a beautiful little chapel sited high within the Swiss Alps. Its amazing how it blends in with its context and the type of construction is similar to the local vernacular architecture


The interior of the Chapel. It is very simple construction but designed in a very elegant way. And the quality of light was amazing


Looking down into the valley from the chapel.