An entrance as an invitation
Welcome to the kingdom of well-being: this is the warm and welcoming message that literally emanates from the new entranceway to the popular thermal bath Podhajska. With its open-plan, friendly design which uses light-coloured, curved pieces of wood, it invites visitors to spend a few relaxing hours in the sauna or the pool, on the sun lounger or the slide. The building is an inviting business card for the entire premises and is certainly not the last piece in the mosaic for this steadily expanding complex which has evolved from a tiny swimming pool into an expansive holiday destination for those seeking rest and relaxation – and not just from Slovakia, but from the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Hungary.
An ocean in Slovakia?
The thermal bath in the picturesque south east of Slovakia can look back on an eventful history: In 1973, a drilling team penetrated to a depth of 1,900 metres and made an incredible discovery: Slovakia has an ocean! Not only did the explorers find the teeth of prehistoric fish – they also discovered hot water with a temperature of 80 degrees that was bubbling out of the layers of rock and was similar to the Dead Sea in terms of its composition. The inhabitants of the village quickly knocked up a little pool from some old paving slabs and were able to enjoy the pleasant and soothing effects of the greenish brown water. Over the course of the years, they added changing rooms, showers, further pools, buffets, a hotel and a restaurant. And since the 1990s, the thermal spa has increasingly been developing into a popular attraction for visitors. Ten years ago, the Aquamarin Wellness Centre was built. And the architect who generated such enthusiasm with his impressive construction is now creating an entrance area to match.
Everything flows
Architect Ladislav Bakša from the architect's practice Ateliér na bašte s.r.o designed a spacious reception area that took its inspiration from shapes in nature and from waves. Curved glue-laminated timber beams made from spruce are used to form a funnel into which the aluminium roof seems to be poured, almost like a shiny waterfall. Visitors won't find any straight lines, corners or edges here, however hard they look: Panta Rhei – everything flows – seems to have been the perfect slogan for the architects. The challenging timber construction was realised by the Slovakian timber construction professionals from LATTI-Extra GmbH, in collaboration with TECTUM NOVUM, a.s.
Natural beauty
To make sure that the light-coloured spruce retains its beauty in the long term, the experts from LATTI-Extra chose a coating with which they had had consistently good experience over a period of many years: ADLER's water-based Lignovit range! In the outdoor section, the wood was first of all impregnated with ADLER Lignovit IG Protect, and was then given two coats of ADLER Lignovit Protect Finish in shade Fichte. The interior section was finished with Lignovit Interior UV 100 in shade Natur. This glaze ensures that the natural look of the wood is preserved and protected against yellowing. So that the reception area will be able to fulfil its role in directing the ever increasing crowds of visitors towards rest and relaxation for many years to come!
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