There is often a very close relationship between a building and the body that occupies it. I chose Thermes Vals designed by Peter Zumthor to analyze this concept and took into consideration the views of architects Vétruvius and Le Corbusier. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe Vals Thermal Baths, located in Vals, Switzerland, are built over a hot spring and serve as a place for relaxation and rejuvenation for tourists and the local community. . A bath is a very private and warm experience and the building is meticulously designed to highlight this feature. Vetruvius' book, The Ten Books of Architecture, emphasizes the importance of ratios in architecture in relation to the proportions of the human body. Le Corbusier's Modular speaks to standardization as a means of mass production and delves deeper into the study of Vetruvian human proportions in design to discuss the relationship between the body and a space. Although Thermes Vals instills all of these concepts in its design, one of its most successful features is the transitions in scale and proportion from one room to another, which create calming and calming experiences for guests. people. Moving through the space, one passes through a series of interior and exterior spaces that give them a view of the ecstatic landscape beyond and around. At the same time, there is not much that people can see from outside the building, which adds to its privacy and tranquility. In the ten books of Architecture, proportion is defined as the relationship between the members of a structure. As for the facade of Thermes Vals, the proportions of the windows are very carefully thought out. The upper floor of the structure has four massive windows that open to the sky and provide frontal views of the entire city. This place houses the outdoor swimming pool. Right now, architect Zumthor seeks to create a feeling of being small in relation to the world around us. A view of the endless mountains, the eternal sky and the high stone walls that barely surround the space make the person inside think about how infinitesimal their presence on Earth is. On the other hand, the lower floor of Thermes Vals is intended to be a low-height enclosed space that keeps you warm and close to the stone walls of the building. Each small, long hallway opens into a hot sauna, relaxation room and locker room. This space, in turn, makes the interaction between an individual and their space powerful. There are sixteen small windows that give you a “glimpse” of the nature outside. While the huge outdoor space at the top makes you think about the world around you, the compact space on the ground floor begins to act as an instigator of introspection. Similar to Vetruvius, Le Corbusier's book, Le Modulaire, also discusses the proportions of the human body. He takes the measurements and proportions of the human body studied by Vetruvius further and uses the body as a central element of design. Everything must be designed on the scale of the human body and modified to create varied experiences, says Le Corbusier. Walking or driving towards the Thermes Vals, you get a feeling of grandeur. The building is mostly double-height, measures a total of 178 feet wide, and is made up of two parallel rectangles connected to each other on one side. All these proportions, in my opinion, were created with the idea of ​​making the human being feel small, in a space submerged and inspired by nature. Although these proportions might well correspond to the ideal human body considered during design, I believe it is not fair thatthe ideal body is that of a six-foot man. If we consider the average height of people in the world, it is only 5 feet 8 inches. So even though Thermes Vals caters to people of all sizes, Le Corbusier's idea of ​​designing for the six-foot man is questionable in terms of gender and race. Vetruvius mentions that the best architecture comes from symmetry. However, Zumthor opposed this idea in his facade. He placed the windows and openings not symmetrical to each other, but rather according to their function on the building. Small windows for private spaces and large ones for more public spaces. I think it's a more effective way to approach design. If symmetry has always been pleasing to the human eye, we must take into consideration that we ourselves are not, and if we were, we would look a little absurd. Similarly, modifying the façade of Thermes Vals to stay true to its solid, rectangular floor plan, but simultaneously instilling correctness of form after function, worked successfully for the hot spring. Within the structure as well, there isn't much symmetry to the floor plan as a whole, but the layout stays true to rectangular rooms running parallel and perpendicular to each other. Despite the lack of repetition, this floor plan creates a sense of rhythm and works according to the needs of an individual walking through the space. From the spring water to the changing rooms via the toilets and then the stairs, the Thermes Vals are extremely functional. Although asymmetrical, the bathtub top can be placed on a grid. Le Corbusier in his book Le Modulor emphasizes his desire for standardization. The ability to create a grid with endless possibilities, and that's exactly what Therme Vals is. Despite its lack of conformity to Vetruvian symmetry, Zumthor designed the bath to be a cuboid, with several varying sizes of rectangular rooms inside. There are no curved paths throughout the entire structure, which compensates for the lack of symmetry while still allowing the space to follow its functional transitions. This idea of ​​standardization resulted in common stages in the construction of a house or a space and, very precisely, these characteristics are found at Thermes Vals. The first guideline is free space on the roof for arranging a terrace. The hot spring is fully green roofed, allowing it to maintain its connection to its site at ground level. Next, Le Corbusier talks about the liberated floor plan which promotes free movement within a space, the free façade which allows light to flood the space and horizontal windows which are all made possible by the use of columns as support. The Thermes Vals are predominantly horizontal and have all the characteristics mentioned by Le Corbusier. Zumthor, following all these guidelines for Le Corbusier's steps towards mass production, decided to break a rule, and I consider this a bold and successful move. building declaration. Le Corbusier said that a house should be raised off the ground to increase the space of the garden. In contradiction, Therme Vals has about half of its structure embedded in the ground, caressing its landscape. Keeping in mind the purpose of the structure which is to leave a feeling of relaxation, security and warmth in an individual, the building acts as a small niche in the massive surface of the Earth and keeps people inside always in contact with nature, from inside an artificial structure. Being too open about a tall building would create a sense of fear in people, not allowing them to.