Next to the busy street Sveavägen in central Stockholm you will find the green oasis Vanadislunden. Here, in the middle of the greenery, in an old quarry, the architect Paul Hedqvist chose to place the outdoor bath Vanadisbadet, which I have chosen to work with for my thesis project.

During the 19th century excavations were carried out in Vanadislunden and had left scars in the hilly terrain and made the park difficult to utilize. But Hedqvist saw the advantages rather than the disadvantages of the site and Vanadisbadet was inaugurated in 1938.

In 2001, the old changing rooms were converted into a low budget hotel, and changingrooms for the bath were moved to temporary pavilions by the pool instead.In 2007, Vanadisbadet was so worn down that it had to close, a proposal for renovation was presented. This included refreshing the pools, the purification plant and the station for heating were renewed. Buildings, railings, and lighting poles were painted. These measures aimed to keep the bath in operation for about 10 years. This was completed in 2014 and Vandisbadet could reopen.

Today, exactly 10 years after the renovation, Vanadisbadet is in great need of another one. The hotel has been closed for many years and the inside of the building is today empty and in bad condition. The bath is still in operation during the summer months.

After studying Vanadisbadet, both Paul Hedqvist’s original drawings and how it looks today, I have developed a new program. This is based on:

Recreate what I liked about Hedqvist’s original idea for the building;The symmetrical and logical organization in plan and how you were supposed to move in the building.Entrance and dressing rooms where they were intended to be

What I thought was missing;An indoor pool to be able to use the bath all year roundAccessibility adaptations