Studio 33

Bathhouse

Richard Fleming & Anja de Spa

Studio Description

A house for water immersion

‘Architecture provides settings for human ritual of every kind, from formal major rituals that engage at a community level to informal personal rituals of everyday life’ Spiro Kostof

The central premise of Bathhouse is the ritualistic act of bathing or immersing the body in water. This can be an intensely private act or a communal celebration. Bathing can reconnect the body to nature, light & space; it can be a slow space for reflection or a fast-paced arena for sporting prowess.

Many cultures have developed ritualistic bathing facilities over centuries, from the early Roman or Turkish baths to Russian Banya and Japanese Onsen. In Australia, watering holes, creeks and streams have been places or ritual gathering for the indigenous culture for millennia. In more recent times the swimming pool, both public and private has defined the modern bathing experience. Could it be more than that? This studio seeks to reimagine and redefine the typology so that it speaks of its place and transforms its occupants.

The site for the studio is nominated as Debney Park adjacent to the Moonee Ponds Creek. A seam of mineral spring water has been discovered on the site, capture and harness its potential. Culturally, the site is a melting pot of multicultural Melbourne. It sits on the junction between four suburbs and straddles the iconic Melbourne Gateway designed by DCM completed in 2000. The site is rich in potential, but it has suffered from years of neglect. Detailed site analysis will be undertaken to understand the specificity of the site, its historical & cultural significance, the nodes and linkages, topography and ecology.

Our studio seeks the following: a sensitive and poetic work of architecture to celebrate the ritual of bathing and the repair of a disused parcel of inner-city land to create a project that is of its place.

Studio Outcome

The studio will take students through five stages of development; RESEARCH; ANALYSIS; AGENDA; TESTING; REFINEMENT & COMPOSITION. Students will also be required to record their observations and sketches within a design journal throughout the semester. The RESEARCH stage will focus on precedents, both historical and contemporary, local and foreign. Contextual research, both material and abstract will be undertaken in order to better understand the nominated site location in terms of its opportunities and constraints. A site visit will be followed by free hand sketching exercise to illustrate your personal observations. ANALYSIS of the brief in terms of movement narrative, the poetics of space, aspect and prospect will culminate in physical model studies and diagrams. Students will define their concept AGENDA or design proposition which will be presented to the group as part of the mid semester review.

In the second half of the semester we will be working to the heuristic method of TESTING and REFINEMENT. Shifting between scales, drawing type and using physical models to tease out the maximum potential within your proposition. Fast paced iterative development is required. We will also be drawing on specialist input and guest lectures from the bathhouse and swimming pool typologies.

The last fortnight will focus on COMPOSITION. Each student is required to storyboard their presentations and each session we will review the iterative development of the work to ensure that the design concepts, tectonics and intended atmosphere is visible in the printed and modelled work. (p)You will be required to develop schemes that test an architectural proposition and go beyond the default. We are seeking outcomes that explore the sublime and offer a spiritual refuge. We will interrogate the threshold between building and landscape to create a project that is of its place.

We require that each student is actively engaged in the studio culture. Discussions will focus around printed and pinned up work or physical models. This is not an analogue studio, but we do require that your work develops a signature that is unique to your hand.

Student’s final presentation outcomes will be required to comply with specified communication tools, continuing the expectations present throughout semester of iterative and journaled working methods and carefully considered architectural representations of their proposals.

Studio Leaders

Richard Fleming and Anja de Spa are founding partners of Molecule Studio, a holistic design-led architecture and interior design studio based in Melbourne in 2010. The practice works across residential, commercial and hospitality projects of a bespoke nature.

Anja and Richard have been studio leaders at MSD for S1 2018, S2 2018 and Summer Studio 2019. Advocacy work for the profession includes the Melbourne Open House ‘Naked Architect’ Series 2018 and Robin Boyd Open Day series. The practice was recently awarded commendations from the AIA and ArchiTeam for the Triangle House project in Toorak, completed in 2017. Molecule is a registered architecture practice in Victoria and a member of the AIA and ArchiTeam.

Regarded for her rigorous approach, Anja has a love for materials and sensory elements. This creates a special tactile quality to her work. She believes a tailored response to site, brief, client and budget creates the spark that brings life to each project and its definitive character.

Richard aspires to unlock a built language that translates complicated elements into a singular and serene form. His designs also benefit from a close connection to nature, whether it’s a carefully framed view, shaded spaces in the heat of summer or materials that age gracefully.

Readings & References

• The Architectural Review – Typology Bathhouse, Tom Wilkinson 13 Feb 2018
• Repair: The Catalogue – AIA Venice Biennale Catalogue 2018
• Places We Swim – Dillon Seitchik-Reardon & Caroline Clements 2018
• The Pool: Architecture, Culture and identity in Australia – AIA Venice Biennale Catalogue 2016
• Glenn Murcutt – Thinking Drawing / Working Drawing 2018
• Atmospheres – Peter Zumthor, 2006 The Concise Townscape – Gordon Cullen, 1961

Schedule Mondays 15:15-18:15 in Room 117; Thursdays 15:15-18:15 in Room 215
Schedule Week 3

Contact Handbook Key Dates