Learning from Vals

Too often architecture is conceived as an addition. Column to column, beam to beam, room to room, indefinitely. We have a site and we are adding elements on top. We can have a primary volume and add secondary volumes on the side or cluster smaller volumes together. but what if there is another way?

What if we conceive architecture by the means of subtraction? Subtraction means to create space by excavation or erosion from a solid. One can think of it as a water that runs through the rock and creates caves.

And that brings us to a small village of Vals in Swiss kanton, Graubünden. Here lies the gem that feels as if it was excavated from the rock that lies deep within the heart of the earth. Thermal spa of Vals, by Peter Zumthor.

Peter is one of my favourite architects because his work is so raw, unretouched and elemental in the sense of materiality. Even though he is one of the most known architects of today, little is known about him and his design studio is small. Currently, Zumthor works out of his studio with around 30 employees, in Haldenstein, near the city of Chur, in Switzerland. He rarely talks to media and his office does not have a website. Architect and hermit at the same time.

However, let’s focus on his work, shall we? What can we learn from Vals?

The spa is attached to an older building from the 1960s. The spa emerges from a steep hillside, typical for the biggest Swiss kanton. The hotel and bath face east. In the morning, the spa itself bathes in the sun and in the afternoon, the hillside on the other side of the valley is illuminated. We can hear the cowbells ringing. On cool days, the vapour from the hot outdoor baths joins the mist in the valley.

The bath uses water from the natural hot spring. The spa is only accessible through a tunnel that starts in the hotel.

The design process probably started with a single block of rock. This block is half embedded into the steep slope and half projecting into the valley. Local quartzite was used to create a perfect shape.

Architect became an archaeologist and excavation begun. Spaces are created out of eroded parts, not by water, by the designer himself.

More erosion occurred during the design process and artificial cave system emerges from the solid rock. Five changing rooms, indoor and outdoor pool and many smaller caves, each with a different experience. Some are quiet, some have music, in other, you can hear the water splashing, one has flower petals on the water surface, some has a view, some are completely dark. Every single one is exciting and stimulates ones sensuality and sensibility.

Peter shows us what is possible when we look at architecture from a different perspective. He created an oasis of luxury in the heart of Swiss Alpes that is admired many years after its completion.

My dear friend, Marina had the honour to visit this magnificent building and took some photos you can check below or on her Instagram.