Cars dancing endlessly round and around, drawing inaccessible circular spaces punctuating our cities, looking for meaning. What about roundabout what?
© Gregori Civera
Round About Baths is a temporary public building transforming an impersonal and inaccessible fountain trapped at the centre of relentless traffic into an intimate and communal experience where undressed bodies meet in water. Pride of the 19th century’s social movements promoting public hygiene for the working class, urban public baths have slowly closed their doors to be unsurprisingly replaced by private and commercial “wellness centers”, mirrors of our times.
© Gregori Civera
Combining changing rooms, steam rooms, and cold-water fountain basins, Round About Baths offers privacy while occupying a central point in the city. Revealing hidden potentials in a car-dominated urban environment, the temporary public program hacks the street equipment and transforms our perception of this forgotten space.
© Gregori Civera
The high walls of the bathing facility are made of a regular timber structure cladded with uncut wooden panels temporarily used for the installation. If the panels find a second life after the festival, the fountain itself will go back to its uselessness, leaving behind only memories and a new vision of what public space could be.
© Gregori Civera
The heart of the restless circle of motion, shaped by absence, will go back to oblivion.
Project Info
Architects: Leopold Banchini Architects
Year: 2025
Country: Logroño, Spain
Photographs: Gregori Civera
Architect: Leopold Banchini
Madeline Brooks is a Projects Editor at Arch2O, where she has been shaping and refining architectural content since March 2024. With over a decade of experience in editorial work, she has curated, revised, and published an array of projects covering architecture, urbanism, and public space design. A graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Madeline brings a strong academic foundation and a discerning editorial eye to each piece she oversees. Since joining Arch2O, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the platform’s editorial direction, with a focus on sustainability, social relevance, and cutting-edge design. Madeline excels at translating complex architectural ideas into clear, engaging stories that resonate with both industry professionals and general readers. She works closely with architects, designers, and global contributors to ensure every project is presented with clarity, depth, and compelling visual narrative. Her editorial leadership continues to elevate Arch2O’s role in global architectural dialogue.