Berlin studio raumlabor/Photography courtesy of Raumlabor
Scroll through the gallery to see innovative modern takes on bathhouses as well as other incredible water-facing designs.

Studio Raumlabor built a rusty steel bathhouse in Frihamnen, the former industrial port of Gothenburg.
Berlin studio raumlabor/Photography courtesy of Raumlabor
Its steel industrial exterior is juxtaposed with a warm wooden interior made of larch strips.
Photograph: Mitsumasa Fujitsuka. Courtesy of Kengo Kuma & Associates
With a transparent canopy and use of wood, Kengo Kuma's Horai bathhouse takes inspiration from traditional Japanese hot springs.
courtesy of the spaces/H3T Architekti
H3T Architekti has built a collection of 19 saunas so far, including Sauna Poleno, a bike sauna and a suspended sauna hovering over a lake. The community sauna pictured above is located in the Czech spa town of Podebrady.
courtesy of Skene Catling de la Pena
This former dairy house is now a luxury estate with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a small pool. The exterior maintains its existing structure.
courtesy of Doug Aitken workshop and the museum of contemporary art, los angeles/conner macphee
Artist Doug Aitken is planning on building geometric spaces of underwater art, allowing swimmers, divers, and snorkelers to experience submerged pavilions.
Museo Subacuatico de Arte
The Museo Subacuatico de Arte (otherwise known as the Cancun Underwater Museum) is an underwater museum with no walls, guides or descriptive plaques.
Jason deCaires Taylor
British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor covers his exhibits in cement that attracts coral growth, then submerges them to the ocean floor, letting tropical coral overtake their surface and eventually form a new reef.
Courtesy Jason deCaires Taylor
The artist makes the scuptures in Cancun, as heavy as possible so they would stay on the seabed once secured. Works are made of PH neutral cement, and over time sponges and coral encrust the surfaces in myriad of colorful and unexpected patterns.
Kleindienst/Floating Seahorse
The Floating Seahorse villas in Dubai take the houseboat concept to the next level. The villas are brought to life by Kleindienst real estate and property developers.
Kleindienst
Floating Seahorse villas include two underwater bedrooms, an outdoor sun deck, and a rooftop with a glass-bottom Jacuzzi. At just 9.5 centimeters thick, the floor-to-ceiling underwater windows make it seem like there's nothing between you and the fish.
Jet Capsule
Made of two fiberglass shells, the UFO (which in this case, stands for unidentified floating object) is essentially what it looks like -- a spherical boat, able to reach a top speed of 3-5 knots.
Jet Capsule
The UFO is completely self-sustaining, incorporating innovative features like a water generator that turns salt water and rain into potable water. The mobile home also has solar panels and optional water turbines to power the battery.
Vincent Callebaut
Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has revealed plans for a series of underwater eco-villages that can house up to 20,000 people in the future.
Vincent Callebaut
The Aequorea project, still in research and development stage, imagines entirely self-sufficient, spiraling "oceanscrapers."
Vincent Callebaut
Seawater would be desalinated for drinking, microalgae would recycle organic waste, and light would be provided through bioluminescence.
Davide Lopresti/Upy London
Italian Davide Lopresti was named underwater photographer of 2016 for his image, titled "Gold," of a spiny seahorse taken in Trieste, Italy. Lopresti's image also won the macro category,
Thomas Heckmann/UPY London
Thomas Heckmann ccaptured "A Family Affair," which shows a shipwreck with the island of Curacao in the background. He got this shot while swimming with his young daughter, Maja.
Courtesy Studio Sigalit Landau and Marlborough Contemporary
In her "Salt Bride" photography series, Israeli artist Sigalit Landau documents how a dress transformed over three months being submerged in the Dead Sea.
Courtesy Studio Sigalit Landau and Marlborough Contemporary
The black dress used is a replica of a traditional garment worn by the protagonist in "The Dybbuk," a traditional Yiddish play. In the play, the protagonist is a bride possessed by a demonic spirit, but Landau transforms the garment into a wedding dress by turning the black gown to white.
Courtesy Studio Sigalit Landau and Marlborough Contemporary
"It looks like snow, like sugar, like death's embrace," Landau said of the salt deposits.
Courtesy Matanya Tausig
The dress became considerably thicker as more and more salt crystals adhered to the fabric. Dress transformed by salt crystals have been pulled from the depths of the Dead Sea salt lake.
© Bruce Mozert. Reprinted by permission of Bruce Mozert and the University Press of Florida.
Bruce Mozert, a pioneer for underwater photography from the 1940's, created underwater photography series that showcases a rare and romantic look at society at the time.
© Bruce Mozert. Reprinted by permission of Bruce Mozert and the University Press of Florida.
Mozert's attention to detail and experiment with props and materials allowed him to make each underwater photo perfectly reflect the on-ground scene.
© Bruce Mozert. Reprinted by permission of Bruce Mozert and the University Press of Florida.
"Tiny fishing weights ensured that the hula dancer's grass skirt wouldn't float upwards, the bubbly in the glass of champagne resulted from Alka-Seltzer tablets, the smoke from the barbequing steak was made from condensed powdered milk."

Editor’s Note: The Spaces is a digital publication that covers architecture, design and art.

Story highlights

Bathhouses have traditionally been considered places for health and well-being

See gallery above for modern day bathhouses and other designs inspired by water

CNN  — 

While “taking the waters” may have fallen out of favor, a new generation of architects are reimagining the bathhouse as an alternative community space.

“Soak, Steam, Dream” – an exhibition at the Roca London Gallery – brings together contemporary bathhouses by designers from around the world, including mobile saunas-on-wheels and floating spas perched on lakes.

While historically bathhouses were a place of health and well-being, slowly displaced by the private bathroom, many of the spas on show were created with socializing in mind.

“Architects want an alternative to our existing bars and restaurants, and other consumption-based social spaces,” says curator Jane Withers. “It’s about how people behave, and sparking community in different ways.”

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