Architect Sacha Liddell
ArchitectWATER RETURNS
HM of London Urban Retreat: Haggerston Public Baths
+ HONOURABLE MENTION
London Urban Retreat: Haggerston Public Baths
[20432]
WATER RETURNS: Accumulation, Filtration, and Restitution
Team
Name: Meshkat Rajabi Arani
Instagram: @mra_arte, @me_sh_i
Nationality: Canadian, Iranien
Name: Sacha Liddell
Instagram: @sacha_li__
Nationality: French
Name: Erika De Lisle
Instagram: @erika.dela.isla
Nationality: Canadian
In the past, Man purified himself in the baths of Haggerston: water was the founding gesture, the first care. Today, the relationship is reversed, it’s us who purify the water. This inversion testifies both to the evolution of place and the profound transformation of our relationship with water. Rather than fleeing the abundant London rain, it is valorized by a complete water cycle: the water is harvested on the roofs, filtered by a swamp in an inner courtyard then reused in the baths and redistributed throughout the building thus continuing the cycle. The water would later be given to communities.
This cycle becomes directly readable. A glazed passage through the building marks the new entrance and separates the bath functions (wet) to the other project premises (dry). The rainwater treatment rooms in the basement are accessible to the public, which transforms the project into an educational place where conscious water management is staged. The building thus becomes a living system, where water circulates, transforms, and accompanies the user in their experience of well-being. The users can thus take advantage of the large bathroom to recharge and relax, complemented by new facilities such as saunas, massage rooms, as well as a café, an area dedicated to dance classes, and several multipurpose rooms. The project deliberately goes against a vision of baths reserved for an elite and is part of a desire for democratization and social continuity of the old London public baths.
Jury Comments
– Josefine Fokdal
Conceptually strong. Harvesting water and using it in the pool and building is a new way of dealing with water. Also the rather conceptual approach toward humans cleaning water versus water cleaning humans is nice. The educational aspect of water treatment is also good.
Responses