LO-FI LEISURE POP-UP BATHHOUSE DETOX
use. Smyth realised the only way the spa could work was if he could design out the energy loads. He approached this in two ways – using Passivhaus principles to create insulated envelopes to minimise heating and cooling requirements, and by getting visitors to understand that a blissful sense of wellbeing doesn’t have to be associated with profligate use of energy. ‘We are questioning people’s perception of
what is comfortable,’ says Smyth. ‘When people go on holiday they remember the simple, such as a massage in a mountain hut, or a plunge in an Alpine river. They don’t recall swims at the local leisure centre. We want to recreate that here.’ On colder days, Smyth says he wants
guests to feel cosy by using hot water bottles and drinking mulled wine. Guests experience the elements in the relaxation yard and the gravel bays, which are both open to the sky – trees planted in the relaxation yard offer shelter from London’s weather. ‘A little bit of
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rain usually sends people running inside, but here people lie out it in,’ says Smyth. Without a connection to the gas mains, limitless access to hot water could not be taken for granted and Smyth had to find a way of limiting its use. ‘For the number of people using the spa
we needed three shower units, but a normal power shower is 2 to 6 kW and running four simultaneously would mean a very high peak load.’ To reduce peak load, Smyth opted for a
single shower run off an electric immersion boiler. This was complemented by three bucket showers, which were refilled from the same boiler. As the buckets would only be filled intermittently, the use of hot water was limited and the peak load low. ‘It was a good way of restricting the water
supply,’ says Smyth, who noted that many people opted for a cold bucket shower anyway after the heat of the sauna. ‘Meeting higher peak loads would have
The pop-up bathhouse includes a sauna, ice room and treatment area
Smyth opted for a single shower run off an electric immersion boiler. This was complemented by four bucket showers
October 2012 CIBSE Journal 11
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