The Bath Café

Seebad Enge is the latest public shower to be constructed on the Lake Zurich. It is the public bath to witness the transformation of the shower space into a more private space. It was the end of a shower boom era; a time when Zurich has put a stop to an increasing density of city showers and has shifted towards a greater use of private showers. Perhaps at the time the private shower has become more accessible with the wider availability of a sewage system connection. The private shower has also possibly become less expensive to own within the household. Seebad Enge was first constructed as segregated male and female entities with each gender having a whole unit with replicated services on both sides, children were not included (Chen et al. 63). Other baths, however, included a shower for young boys and girls that were separated from the adults’ area. With time, the whole bath was demolished due to the modernization of the city and was then rebuilt into a mixed gender bath while the other portion remained to be used exclusively by females (Chen et al. 63).

All users, however, enjoyed the views towards the Alps while bathing outside during the summer or inside during the winter. Seebad Enge was the first public bath to include a winter sauna and an interior sun deck (Chen et al. 63). Users enjoyed bathing in the winter as much as the summer. A large floating structure formed the summer wooden decks that were exposed to the sun during most times of the day, except for the night of course when the deck transforms into a bustling bar with music, people, drinks, after work intimacies, and night time conversations (Chen et al. 63). Seebad Enge was the last public shower to be constructed, but it was the first to transform the contemporary use and importance of public showers within the city of Zurich. Its shower and locker facilities are sunken in the ground inspired by the architecture of a ship. Hinting at the design of a mobile shower perhaps?