THERME VALS

M.Arch project

Type of project I Study, model concept and fabrication

Materials Plywood description Peter Zumthor’s bathhouse, Therme Vals, is built of a stone that was excavated from the Swiss Alps. The bathhouse structure is carved into the slope of an Alpine mountain.

The model explores the relationship between the layered rock of Therme Vals and the rock of the mountain. It also analyzes the relationship between the blocks and the cantilevered roof plates. Each roof plate cantilevers from one block of bathhouse program, yet the roof plates and the blocks create seemingly unrelated patterns. To demonstrate this, the model can be disassembled by removing each “block and roof plate” pair.

M.Arch project

Type of project I Design of a library as a public park, piece of infrastructure and disaster relief shelter description Landfill makes up the area West of the Highline — an area that is at extreme risk of flooding. In response to this, the site of the Highline Library is a designated flood-tolerant zone. An inlet runs across the site to contain water overflow during storms, protecting the surrounding urban fabric from flooding. info

Its design re-imagines the library as a public park, a piece of water infrastructure and disaster relief shelter, though the library’s primary function continues to be a place to learn. This enables the space to serve the public at all times, one of the responsibilities of twenty-first century libraries as digital archives begin to replace physical stacks.

Informed by the notion of public parks, the library is designed in a way that blurs the line between interior and exterior space. Fragments of the library float above the water inlet while other fragments float above the Highline. The library alternates between interior and exterior modules that are all contained within the same overall structural framework. This framework consists of trapezoidal glulam beams that are wedged into the triangular spaces created by crisscrossing vertical bamboo members. It simultaneously serves as a structural system and as a protective skin for the building.