Sensory Architecture Hepburn Bathhouse Redevelopment
Located next to Bitumen Road, Hepburn Springs, Victoria, this project is a proposal for the redevelopment of the existing Hepburn bathhouse, with an intention to provide a more engaging built environment that interrelates with its natural and artificial contexts. Based on ‘Phenomenology’ research, and questioning the digitalized architecture in current age, this project emphasizes the basic consideration of the relationship of building, surrounding context, space, and human perceptions. Here, architecture acts not only as the embracement of elements on site, but also the medium for the harmonic events of significant elements of the site and its phenomena, with its inhabitants.
Jury Comment
The jury was initially attracted to the sensory focus of the bath house extension. In particular, juxtaposition between the body and architecture, and the evocative atmosphere of the landscape, underpins the methodology. Whether the atmosphere envisaged could be achieved in reality without further detail is uncertain. The jury also noted that the connections between the new building to the natural environment and existing bath house could be more refined. In addition, a lack of formal and volumetric resolution detracted from a potentially strong response.
