The Round About Baths in Plaza Salón, Logroño, Spain, transformed an inaccessible roundabout fountain into a temporary public bath. This installation, situated at the heart of relentless traffic, serves as a communal gathering place for care, reflection, and recreational activities. The installation also functions as a refuge for people battling against the soaring heatwave that recently made global headlines.
Round About Baths, designed by Leopold Banchini for Concéntrico 2025, was selected for the 2026 European Prize for Urban Public Space. The temporary installation developed in Logroño made it to the top 25 list of jury-selected projects out of 381 submissions from 38 countries. The jury selected this project among the proposals sought to help rethink the future of public space in Europe.
This circular oasis combines spa-like steam rooms, changing rooms, and outdoor cold-water basins to create a unified communal bath. The open-air D-shaped enclosure provides privacy from passing vehicles and simultaneously fills the public bath with fresh air.
Banchini kept the fountain intact and built the enclosure around it using a pine timber frame clad with durable uncut pine panels. He built a 44-foot-tall chimney, placed a fire-heating steam room beneath, and painted the entire installation in grey. This color gives a concrete appearance and helps it blend with the surrounding buildings and roads. The cold-water basin envelops the courtyard where people can lie down and play in the fountains while enjoying a fun bathing experience.
The open-air enclosure eliminates the need for exhaust fans and naturally ventilates the accumulated hot steam and moisture. The fountain atrium provides a place where people can socialize and bathe under open sky. The soothing cooling effect of fresh air circulation offers respite from unbearable heatwaves.
The roundabout fountain intervention sought to revive the 19th century tradition of creating urban baths to maintain hygiene and collective well-being. This tradition gradually disappeared and was replaced by private and commercial models. The intervention planned to reclaim this tradition by developing a modern public bath where well-being and communal gathering coexist within the urban environment.
The Round About Baths installation proves that wasted circular traffic junctions can transform into public wellness sanctuaries. It intentionally used repurposed and local materials to minimize ecological impact while reducing construction costs.
Through this exceptional project, Leopold Banchini proposed an environmentally friendly solution to mitigate car-dominated urban planning. The five finalists out of these top 25 nominees for the award will be announced on 9 September.
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