- Aesthetics, Sensation and Interior Climate
This project from Jingyu’s portfolio was completed in Assistant Professor Nerea Feliz's Fall 2019 Vertical Studio III which had students explore the ways that aesthetics, sensation, and interior climate mediate between the body and the built environment through the design of an interior space of a bathhouse. At the center of the design are multiple pools and green spaces surrounded by a series of semi-opaque curtains or screens that can be extended or contracted according to the desired function. By using materials like curved glass, scrim curtains, and glass fiber reinforced concrete, the design offers bathhouse-goers privacy while also creating an inclusive and inviting space where one can physically and mentally relax.
As for the spatial experience, this central area is the most protected. The renderings show that during the daytime, bright but soft light can be admitted through various apertures. As the permeation of light differs and changes across space and through time, the visitor’s depth perception becomes blurred and indistinct, lending a soft, atmospheric quality throughout the building.
- Findings from Caracalla Bath in Rome
My project is an urban bathhouse that focuses on exploring the relationship between sensations and the ordering system, and also how to use digital fabrication to achieve that. I started thinking about what bathing means, through researching the humidity, thermal environment, program, circulation of Caracalla Bath in Rome, and Roman paintings, which inspired me to various related factors like nature, sexual equality, entertainment, sensation.
- The Prototype & Iteration
I started from the prototype consisting of a single bathing room and a changing room, the curve of the thin concrete wall gives the sense of softening and the human body，which· could simulate the most relaxed and original status when bathers are naked. The prototype was also 3D printed out as well.
When moved to the site, The whole bathhouse is based on a layered structure, with transitions from public to private, dry to wet, and more to less clothed as the visitor moves from the outer boundary into the center. The pools are located at this center, the most private area in my design. Moving to the next layer out, the semi-private spaces are meant for showering, changing, and lockers. Moving even further out, the four enclosures are shared by those both undressed and dressed. The edge corners are the most public spaces.
- Layers & Filters
There are multiple pools and green spaces at the center of my design, surrounded by a series of curtain-like filter structures that help change the boundary between private and public spaces on demand. These curtains are made of semi-opaque screen material and can be extended and retracted according to the desired function in the central space at any given time. These curtains, as well as bathhouse walls, themselves made of glass fiber-reinforced concrete, make up the smaller, less private secondary spaces.
The program is changeable across the layers. The curtains, when open, create a private space that allows for calm relaxation like yoga, or a tearoom. When closed, space becomes much more open and can host music or theater performances. The outermost layer features the reception desks, a snack bar, and a product display, made of Panama pine.
- Model & Immersive Experience
The warped circulation also follows temperature and humidity levels from the corners to the central pool, and I believe the visitor's depth perception becomes blurred and indistinct. I have so much self-passion in this project because I'm not only a storyteller but also lending a soft, atmospheric quality throughout the building, bringing flexibility and equality to everyone.
As for the spatial experience, this central area is the most protected. The renderings show that during the daytime, bright but soft light can be admitted through various apertures. As the permeation of light differs and changes across space and through time, the visitor’s depth perception becomes blurred and indistinct, lending a soft, atmospheric quality throughout the building.
As for the spatial experience, this central area is the most protected. The renderings show that during the daytime, bright but soft light can be admitted through various apertures. As the permeation of light differs and changes across space and through time, the visitor’s depth perception becomes blurred and indistinct, lending a soft, atmospheric quality throughout the building.