At the northeastern part of the region of Drama, on the Rhodope Mountains, lies the slum settlement of Thermia where thermal baths are located. The 120-hut settlement which are made from all sorts of materials have a special target group which consists of hunters and tourists. These huts are used either as baths that are open to public or for accommodation.
The aim of the City of Paranesti, which owns the site of the baths, is to take advantage of it by replacing the slums with modern bathing and accommodation facilities.
Our suggestion to the City’s project is the creation of a building next to the existing settlement and the establishment of a second community in its limits that will be interdependent with the old one. Thus, our ambition is to create a new balance between the residents in order to make them indispensable to each other.
Even though the settlement of Thermia is developed with the principles of addition, we decided to remove parts or the granite mountain in order to create enclosed areas that could host the functions that we propose. A linear square parallel to the stream which is next to the settlement hosts the bathing facilities. The spatial principles of this square have resulted from an investigation in the old settlement. Five smaller squares, vertically placed to the bigger one, create four mountain arms. These projections are not covered as the region’s granite quality gives us the opportunity to get advantage of it. Even most of its plants are maintained.
Inside these projections and in different heights, holes which are used for accommodation are opened.
Apart from the public thermal baths, each room has its own private bath. The way that these baths are placed in the rooms make them seem like they hang over the five squares.