Valorsul Showers

Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão

Valorsul Showers

STUDIO_LPP

ARCHITECTS
STUDIO_LPP

LEAD ARCHITECT
Luís Pedro Pinto

ENGINEERING
Luram, OMF

MANUFACTURERS
AutoDesk, DELABIE, JUNG, Technal, Duravit, Imperalum, Mediclinics, Sonae Industria, Valadares,
Viúva Lamego, JNF, Roofmate, Saint Gobain Glass, Secil

CLIENT
Valorsul

PHOTOGRAPHS
Daniel Malhão

AREA
6027 ft²

YEAR
2009

LOCATION
Santa Iria De Azóia, Portugal

CATEGORY 
Services, Other Structures

Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão

Text description provided by architect.

The location for this operation was on a long, flat strip of land, on the edge of the manufacturing complex, Valorsul - a waste treatment company in the metropolitan area of Lisbon - located in the industrial belt of Lisbon, along the north bank of the Tagus River.

Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão

This building was compared with others already constructed (main factory building and incinerator) with very different and very affirmative architectural languages.

Thus, building a sober piece, which did not rival the existing one, seemed to be the path to the project.

Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão

A single scale construction was proposed, a pure, longitudinal parallelepiped shape, where an entrance “place” with an exterior direction was defined, which would guarantee all the covered physical access to the interior program areas.

This volume, with a single floor and 50 meters longitudinally, builds a new street front, where an abstract material - gray concrete - "perched" on a white stone garden - gravel - promotes another reading in the factory complex.

Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão

Inside, the different spaces (medical post, male spa, female spa and laundry) are available longitudinally to this distribution.

Entrances and exits (separate) are made by metal windshields that will strategically occupy this distribution corridor.

In the changing rooms, two central infrastructural areas are built which, placed in the center of the space, define two distinct areas - dirty area / clean area.

Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão

These two areas contain all the equipment and infrastructure necessary to ensure an efficient and comfortable operation of the equipment.

To the concrete, on the facade, a continuous U-Glass plane (self-supporting translucent glass) is added to the facade.

Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão

This “glassy” limit makes it possible to counteract a pre-made idea of what a bathhouse is, while guaranteeing the desired privacy, but giving a luminous dimension to the entire program.


Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão
Valorsul Showers
© Daniel Malhão


Valorsul Showers
Ground floor plan
Valorsul Showers
Cross section


Valorsul Showers
Longitudinal section
Valorsul Showers
Longitudinal elevation