Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
5th INTERNATIONAL CULTURE, ART and LITERATURE CONGRESS, Konya, Türkiye, 13 Aralık 2022, ss.282-303
People, whose awareness of living in a healthy and vigorous way is constantly developing,
prefers facilities that provide various opportunities by making use of thermal waters in order
to reach modern and effective treatment methods and to continue their life in a more vigorous
way. These facilities are spa structures, one of the current forms of the baths, which formed an
important part of daily and social life in the past and have gained a unique place in the social
memory. Today, the perception of a contemporary, healthy and relaxing recreation
characterized by the terms SPA (selus per aqua / health from water) and wellness has become
quite widespread. For the reason, it has been considered important to examine different architectural approaches from various regions and to identify distinctive features in such
structures in order to meet international expectations. In this study, it is aimed to examine the
spa space and its architecture by making discussions on the selected contemporary spa
structures. By choosing spa structures from various geographical regions that attach different
meanings to the bathing space, look at the architectural representation of the space from
different points, try to reflect the same culture in different contexts during the design and
planning phase, and seek contemporary equivalents to the bath space analyzes were made and
similarities / differences were revealed. The perspective of today’s hammam space has been
questioned through contemporary spa structures such as Therme Vals designed by Peter
Zumthor, Les Bains des Docks designed by Jean Nouvel, Sidi Harazem designed by Jean
Francois Zevaco, and the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, which is called the world’s largest spa. In
the examined contemporary buildings, the architect who made the design benefited from
natural factors such as climate, landforms and water; it has been seen that he has created
original structures by integrating factors such as material use, light and color with the fiction
coming from his own architecture. Today, it has been found that the occupation of spa
structures has evolved to heal / isolate people individually. The study is important in terms of
examining the principles of spa planning and design, defining the spa spaces and determining
the connections between spaces, and establishing the infrastructure for future studies at the
point of solving the spa concept and the feeling that the user wants to leave.