Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus, Salzburg Health Facility, Spa Building Photos, Contemporary Architecture Design

Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus in Salzburg, Austria

Public Swimming Pool Exterior and Interior Development in Austria design Berger+Parkkinen

post updated 17 November 2021

Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus Awards for Austrian-Finnish architects

Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus Awards

Since its opening, the Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus has been achieving great success not only among the visitors but also among architecture experts. Thus, the extraordinary bath in Salzburg has been honored with several outstanding awards (The International Architecture Award 2021 & IAKS 2021 / Cologne) and has been nominated for both the Austrian Staatspreis Architektur 2021 (awarded by the Ministry for Digitalization and Business Location), the Staatspreis Architektur und Nachhaltigkeit 2021 (awarded by the Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology) and the Brick Award 2022.

Photos © Christian Richters

Staatspreis Architektur und Nachhaltigkeit 2021

(State Award for Architecture and Sustainability)

MINISTRY FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION, ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, MOBILITY, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

The Staatspreis Architektur und Nachhaltigkeit 2021 honors outstanding achievements by building owners, architects and specialist planners who combine sophisticated architecture and resource-saving construction methods. The winners will be announced on December 6, 2021.

Staatspreis Architektur 2021

(State Award Architecture 2021)

MINISTRY FOR DIGITALIZATION AND BUSINESS LOCATION

The Staatspreis Architektur 2021 honors outstanding architectural achievements that set innovative accents in terms of planning, design and content. These will be honored on December 1, 2021 with the State Prize for Architecture of the Federal Ministry for Digitization and Economic Location. From a total of 57 projects submitted, a jury of experts will select three for the State Prize for Architecture 2021 in the categories of production, services and digitization.

The International Architecture Award 2021

THE CHICAGO ATHENAEUM MUSEUM OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

The International Architecture Awards, which have been presented since 2004 by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design together with the European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press, Ltd. for the best and most significant innovations in buildings, landscape architecture and planning projects, also went this year to BERGER + PARKKINEN for the Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus in Salzburg. The Austrian-Finnish architectural firm was thus able to prevail over submissions from 41 nations.

IAKS Architecture Award 2021

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPORTS AND RECREATION FACILITIES

IAKS is the world’s leading non-profit organization for professionals in the sports, recreation and leisure facilities industry. Annually, it recognizes exceptional achievement in facility operations and design through an internationally recognized, exemplary design awards program. In October 2021, Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus was honored.

Brick Award 2022

WIENERBERGER AG

For more than a decade, Wienerberger AG has organized the international Brick Award every two years, which provides a stage for outstanding brick architecture and its architects. With 789 projects from 53 countries, the 10th Brick Award achieved the highest number of submissions in its history, thus proving the internationality of this architecture award.

Previously on e-architect:

16 Jan 2020

Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus

Design: Berger+Parkkinen

Location: Auerspergstraße 2, Salzburg, Austria

The new public bath designed by Berger+Parkkinen Associated Architects highlights Salzburg’s landmarks and mountains, and represents a visionary architectural project in the city’s historical center. “The building’s outstanding impact is a result of the dialogue between the new spaces and existing surroundings — the baroque gardens known as Mirabellgarten, the old town and the surrounding mountains. The indoor swimming pool is conceived as an expansion of the park on the third floor,” states architect Alfred Berger.

In terms of urban design, the new Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus forms a joint between the late 19th century block structures of Auerspergstraße, the open development along Schwarzstraße, the landscape of the Kurgarten and the Mirabellgarten. The geometry of the building is swivelled towards the park, making a reference to the geometry of the vanished fortification-walls of the baroque period.

Swimming & the City
The “Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus” was conceived as a three-dimensional landscape with the building’s main elements forming a clearly legible vertical layering. The rather introverted plinths of the bath contain on three floors the city’s health and spa services and the pool’s changing rooms. The entire roof level, used for the sauna facilities and their spectacular outdoor pool, features a view of the entire city. A layer of ceramic louvers surrounds the “Paracelsus Bad & Kurhaus”, screening it from passersby.

Between these two introverted layers the swimming level is entirely glazed and opens on the trees of the gardens and the city. This transparency underlines the idea of the swimming platform as an integrated raised continuation of the Kurgarten, with unforgettable views of the town, the impressive fortress and the mountain peaks in the background.

Architect Tiina Parkkinen: “In our projects, references to the built environment, natural surroundings and the social context are extremely important.”

Panoramic View and Surrounding Countryside

Wide central stairs lead in a continuous movement from the main entrance in the west through the three plinths floors to the swimming level’s. The daylight shining through guarantees consistent natural lighting. The swimming level features four different pools, from a sports pool to a diving pool, a kiddie pool and the relaxation pool. A continuous band of large, storey-height glass elements forms the boundary to the outside bringing the urban surroundings’ beauty deep into the space.

The materialization of the waterscape is provided by ceramic surfaces, water and light, bordered from above by the gentle shapes of the wavy ceramic ceiling. The animated ceiling with its different heights underscores the variety to be found in the spatial and atmospheric context.
The Sauna Facilities “Naked Above the City”

The gastronomic and sauna facilities are located at the top of the building. Three saunas face the city with panoramic views, while the central and largest sauna is both, sauna and lounge, focusing on the Pfarrkirche Mülln (Mülln Parish Church). A relaxation zone provides an unobstructed view of the hilly landscape to the North and Maria Plain. In the outdoor pool, guests have the sense of bathing above the city’s rooftops, its highest point. As Architect Alfred Berger states: “Through the visual integration of the city’s treasures the project offers a unique combination of physical relaxation and cultural inspiration.”

Leader for Sustainability—Klimaaktiv GOLD Certification
As a reflection of this standard, project planning aimed for a highly efficient building from the very beginning. A comprehensive sustainability analysis was performed, the first time ever for an indoor pool in Austria. The goal, achieving the highest level of certification, Klimaaktiv GOLD, was met. The Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism’s Klimaaktiv building standard stands for energy efficiency, ecological quality, comfort and high-quality assurance for realization. Finished objects that have been awarded gold are—in line with the city of Salzburg’s Smart City strategy—pioneers for climate protection and a comprehensive transition to renewable energy.