Contextual Analysis of Dennistoun:
Recognizing the neighborhood’s continued struggle with deprivation, which often leads to neglect of health and wellness, the project seeks to reinstate the history of communal bathing lost in the neighborhood with the Whitevale Bathhouse as a community asset. With over a quarter of the population being 60 years or older and with a nearby nursing home at Golfhill, the bathhouse serves as a valuable resource for social engagement and elder care. Additionally, drawing from cultural practices such as those found in Japan, where communal bathing is common, the bathhouse offers a culturally shaped solution to elder care needs.

Contribution to Community and Climate Resilience:
An additional 15% of the neighborhood’s population is reported as being sick or disabled, which suggests potential benefits from mobility care and pain relief through hydrotherapy and hot baths. By providing public attendants and having general interactions between different age groups, the bathhouse aims to enhance mental well-being and social coehsion which are known benefits of such activities. Furthermore, the proposal will offer exercise opportunities and mindfulness practices through a fitness studio with physiotherapy, rehab facilities and quiet spaces.

While traditional bathhouses have a female and male segregation, this project adopts a gender-neutral and inclusive approach to accommodate diverse identities and promote inclusivity as well. Private facilities are also available but the program mainly features mixed-use communal baths, saunas, and relaxation areas, where individuals are free to use the facilities regardless of gender, age or expression.

The inclusion of an additional making space will directly contribute to the neighborhood’s economy and its contribution to climate resilience. Featuring an aroma lab and workshops with a rooftop conservatory for herbal plant cultivation, the space fosters vocational skills and embraces principles of circular economy by reducing waste, regenerating nature and circulating products and materials within the facility. This aroma lab builds upon existing spaces for creation, such as the nearby Wasp Studios, with the bathhouse as thinking spaces offering relaxation and a place for creative contemplation for young entrepreneurs, teenagers and school children in the neighborhood.