Red Bay Baths – Monuments in a Rural Landscape
SG 2014
” Upon exploring the Antrim Coast road I was immediately drawn to the area of Red Bay, situated a short distance from the town of Cushendall. Red Arch appealed to me because of how it was made. It was carved out of a jutting headland to make way for the coast road which was to follow fifteen years later. The arch officially marks the end of the coast road. I was drawn to this particular site around the bend from Red Arch because of the nature of it. I was fascinated by its history and topography. Red Bay castle still stands proudly as a monument on top of Red Bay cliff. A series of sea caves are carved from the cliff face and continue to the shore. It is truly remarkable.
From the moment I explored the site, the need for shelter became clear. Being on the cliff top stimulated my senses in many ways with its expansive views of Scotland across the sea and the extreme light shining through Glenariffe Valley. It was an incredible sight. As I moved through the site and reached the moat of the castle there was a sudden tranquillity. The sound of the waves quietened and the wind disappeared. There was a certain warmth. It was in that moment that I came to realise that I wanted to explore a play of change, in the form of space and sensations by way of temperature, materials and light.
The desire to create a series of monuments was inherent throughout the design process, monuments that complement the existing one. The monuments are expressive and emerge from the landscape, elegantly, as standing stones.
Creating space by imagining the space alone is how I begin to design. I do not think of walls or a roof at this stage, the floor, yes. I think of the nature of the space in which I am designing. I think firstly of light and the absence of it. I think of how the sun illuminates the space – I think of the time of the day. I begin to paint a picture of the space, its texture and materiality and how light is absorbed and reflected by these.
After this I think about how one enters the space, where they enter to and from where. Is it through a narrow opening and into a sudden larger space or is it the opposite? The first step one takes into a space is essential as it is their first impression of it.
I design for the person. I think of their abilities, needs, feelings and mood. When I design a space it has to be purposeful. I think of how a person uses a space. I design details to be part of the form. The handrails are part of the walls. The doors disappear into the walls so as to not interrupt the space. The baths are part of the floor and the stairs are an extension of it. It appears as one.
I strive for simplicity in form. A space should be pure and it should appear as though it has been carved. I like for the exterior not to echo what happens inside. It has to appear as though it is emerging from the ground. I think a building should be expressive and monumental. Having already created the atmosphere though sketching, making and drawing, I then begin to think of how a particular space is constructed.
I admire what raw material can be. Concrete, in particular. Concrete has such tremendous power and because of its property like molten stone, it can become anything. I enjoy working with concrete through all of its stages – from creating the mould to deciding its finish.
When I first started designing the bath house, I began with a room – the central cone. I immediately knew the atmosphere I wanted to create. I had a vision of a tall conical space reaching towards an open air oculus with steam rising as the sun light filtered down.
Having established the atmosphere of the space, I began to think of how this space met the next. I decided on a radial plan in which every room talked to each other. All of a sudden the plan, though it has a distinct order, became free. The next step was deciding how I moved up through the building. The answer was by way of a spiral staircase which wrapped around the cone of concrete. Each step is cast individually and attached to the cone by means of reinforcing rods embedded in the cone at appropriate locations. Each step is offset by 34mm so that the stairs rises with the cone as it gets narrower. The riser of each step is 150mm to allow for an effortless climb.
The building became a society of rooms in which one room moved seamlessly on to the next. It is a journey, a narrative with a beginning, middle and an end.
The building is an experience of changing temperatures, light and form.
I was inspired by the work of Louis Kahn because of his geometric clarity and order. I was influenced by his National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh and most notably by his use of layering space. In addition to this, I admire his use of materiality.
“And it’s important, you see, that you honor the material that you use”.
Louis . I . Kahn
This quote by Louis Kahn inspired me throughout the design process. With concrete in mind, I was conscious of every design move I made, always thinking about its possibilities. I thought about its finish when imagining a particular space. In doing so, I thought about the type of shuttering needed to create it, if it was polished with exposed aggregate.
I am fascinated by the work of Carlo Scarpa because of his clever interventions with history and in particular his detailing in Fondazione Quirini-Stampalia in Venice. During the design process I was heavily influenced by this building and his Brion Vega Cemetery, again for his use of mass concrete and meticulous detailing.
I researched some of the great Turkish Hammams and Roman bathhouses to gain a sense of their atmospheres and to explore how a person uses the spaces within the baths. I also drew on lifelong fascinations of the Pyramids of Egypt, Japanese tea houses, Korean temples and the octagon drawings by the great Leonardo Da Vinci.
An imperative part to my thesis project was the study of the seaweed bath houses in Enniscrone Co. Sligo. The central ideas for my thesis originated from my engagement with this structure. It was the catalyst for the work that followed. The Cliff Bath House was built on a limestone wave cut platform which is anchored to the shore by means of a limestone staircase and bridge. It was damaged by a storm that led to its closure. The Kilcullen Edwardian Bath House was built shortly afterwards. This is still in use today with its original features intact. After a visit to the baths, the concept for my thesis project was created.
My thesis project explores a series of monuments which emerge elegantly from the landscape and are connected by means of an external path. The buildings, though expressive in form become internal worlds of changing volumes, light, temperatures, sounds, and materials that stimulate the senses of all of its users.”
