Spanien Public Baths
| Spanien Public Baths | |
|---|---|
| Badeanstalten Spanien | |
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Badeanstalten Spanien, Spanien
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Functionalism |
| Location | Aarhus, Denmark |
| Construction started | 1931 |
| Completed | 1933 |
| Inaugurated | 15 September 1933 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 4 |
| Floor area | 5,984 m2 (64,410 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Frederik Draiby |
| Website | |
| Aarhus Municipality Website for Spanien | |
Spanien Public Baths (Danish: Badeanstalten Spanien), colloquially known simply as Spanien, is a public bath house and a listed building in Aarhus, Denmark. The bath house was completed in 1931 and was listed on the Danish national registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heritage Agency on 15 February 1989.[1]
History
In 1926 the at the time only public bath house in Aarhus closed and it was decided a new one was to be built on an available lot on the street Spanien. The project was budgeted at 750.000 Danish Kroner. Construction commenced in 1931 and was completed in 1933 but at a cost twice as high as initially projected. The finished building included an Olympic-size swimming pool, public showers on the ground floor, a luxury department on the 3rd floor, restaurant, hairdresser and other facilities.[2]
Spanien was constructed with the newest technology in mind. There was a system to create artificial pine-scented rain, underwater lighting, heated floors surrounding the pools, seawater was piped from the condensers of the nearby power plant, in the saunas chairs made of steel pipes were water cooled and every departments had a phone line. The technological solutions drew much attention at the time and some 60.000 visitors mainly from Jutland came to see the new bath house and pool.[2]
In the 1930s the swimming pool was frequently used for international competetions and numerous world records were set there. Prominent local swimmers at the time was Kirsten Busch-Sørensen, Fritze Nathansen og Eva Arndt.
Architecture
Spanien Public Baths is a massive 4 story building with a 6 story tower. The materials are walls of red bricks topped with a plated hip roof. The tower has a flat copper plated roof. The building is an example of Danish functionalism where traditional Danish materials is mixed in a spartan, clean style. The large main building is mostly free of decorations in the spirit of functionalism but the tower feeatures flat brick columns reminiscent of classical pilastres. The interior is painted very colorful which breaks with the simple exterior and communicates the purpose of areas and spaces.[2]
Facilities
The facilities were initially designed to cater to the needs of the many working class inhabitants that still didn't have heated water in their homes and as a wellness facility for wealthier citizens. In modern times there is no longer the same need to cater to basic hygienic needs so the buildings was thoroughly renovated and redesigned between 2012 and 2014.[3][4]
There is today a 25 meter exercise and fitness pool, pools for children and toddlers, saunas and spas. The 3rd floor contains a wellness unit with an ice water pool, saunas, spa baths and massage pools.[5]
External links
See also
References
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