Bath in the Aurora borealis
Competition info
Project : Northern Light Observatory
Location : Rovaniemi, Finland
Date : January 2012 - May 2012
Resurts : Finalist
Principal Direction
As most areas in Rovaniemi have good environment to observe an aurora, this project focused not only on providing a nice view of aurora, but also on how to make a memory of seeing an aurora more theatrical and dramatic in a certain space at a certain moment.
Concept
The concept of this project is the aurora seen by the body. An aurora will be not only seen and felt by the eyes, but seen by the eyes and felt by all the skin in the most primordial state of a naked body.
This is maximized in the spa program. Conceptually, the spa serves as an essential space for rest to which the traditional Finnish sauna lifestyle applied, simultaneously as a whole functioning as an observatory that enables one to feel an aurora by the whole body. Underwater, one can observe the aurora in the various postures a human can take such as lying or sitting down, or standing up, so that the spa will become the optimal space to see an aurora.
The spa where the boundary between the sky and the water disappears connects with the surface of the Kemijoki River which runs through Rovaniemi. Those who come into this spa would feel like swimming in the Kemikoji River, and when the aurora appears, it would be like swimming in the aurora. Also, while the steam rising over the water will naturally make a phantasmal atmosphere, people will have unforgettable memories of feeling theatrical and entrancing atmosphere through the aurora seen over the water from the state of naked bodies.
One can move in all spaces wearing the least number of clothes; not only the aurora, but also the new experiences of momentarily escaping the everyday lives and coming back to the primordial state of nature will be there such as swimming in the forest lit by the moon, the large snowflakes falling on the naked bodies, and the sauna enjoyed with the pattering of raindrops.
The long cantilevered mass on the sloped site represents a floating form in the air, which will be seen as a shiny point floating over the hill from the vantage point of Rovaniemi downtown. This is planned to inspire curiousness into those who have not been to this place.
The glass at the lower part of the spa will make swimmers in the spa feel like floating in the air, and the natural landscape seen through the glass will also give the feel of swimming in a gravity-free space.
For a day when an aurora appears, it was designed to produce a scene of people swimming in the aurora by overlapping the sky and the swimmers. This effect will provide a visual variety of enjoyment for the passers-by along the new promenade.
