Älvstrandens badpark

Sammanfattning: Älvstranden City Bath is located in the center of Gothenburg, by the river running through the city. The project is about studying the possibilities for bathing in the center of Gothenburg by designing recreational public spaces encouraging social activity. It is also about designing for all and making the water available for all people in an including environment. The project proposes a city park including an indoor bath as well as an outdoor beach along the river making it possible to swim in the river by separating and filtering the water. Both are focusing on how architecture can intensify the connection to the natural river water. This project studies the edge between land and water, trying to determine what edge is and what it could become. In the end, the edge becomes a two level promenade alongside the water, a place to stop and sit down at, a place to watch the water from, a ferry stop and the indoor bath becomes a part of this edge. The city bath is a park that connects to existing walking and bicycle paths along the river but is something different than the rest of Gothenburg’s exploited waterfront. A second promenade winds through the park as a sequence of different nature spaces where the intensity in vegetation, openness and closeness vary in order to create curiosity. The promenade concept is also central within the indoor bath, as it is experienced from the water, moving through a sequence of spaces designed to experience the water in different ways in order to find peace and quiet, and a break from the daily stress. The proposition is based on several studies on different aspects of bathing, such as types of bathing, the history of bathing, sensual experiences of water, cities and bathing, and the bathing situation for people considered outside the norm.