Refurbishment of Mineralbad Berg in Stuttgart

Quality upgrade for historic pool

featured in sb magazine 2/2021

Its over 163 years of history give Stuttgart’s historic Mineralbad Berg spa a unique character – and the local population’s reverence for the spa is also immense. The focus of the refurbishment was to preserve the spa’s special character and to give a contemporary reinterpretation of the design in the style of the 1950s. 4a Architekten’s task was to find the right balance between preservation, renewal and supplementation. The refurbishment of the design and technical installations comprised the entire existing complex with its indoor and outdoor bathing areas, restaurant, and sauna zone on the upper floor.

Its exclusive location in the urban setting, embedded in a spacious park landscape of mature trees, gives Stuttgart’s cult swimming pool a special quality of stay. The L-shaped building with north and east wings flanking the square outdoor pool with its lake-like character has retained its original form after being stripped down to the carcase.

The spa’s central hub is the foyer at the intersection of the building axes. Enjoying barrier-free mobility, bathers can now access the lower entrance area and restaurant via a ramp. This is where art features from the existing building, such as the restored Ackermann glass art on the ceiling and the gold-plated bathtub on the gallery, lend striking accentuation. The newly designed entrance area with its shimmering blue mosaic stone façade and the exposed colonnade gives the building its own iconic identity in the urban setting. Extensive glazing provides a view of the outdoor pool and garden from the outside and creates a light-flooded atmosphere inside.