How have spas and thermal baths functioned as public spaces across time, place and culture? This seminar investigates the roles and relationships that bathing practices and structures have had in urban contexts over the past 2000 years. The development of spas and baths remains an anonymous history as art historian Sigfried Giedion termed it, one that is experienced in daily life but often taken for granted. We will explore the architectural history of spas through inquiry into: public health and hygiene, dense urbanization, erosion of public space, social dynamics and cultural identity, individual and societal well-being, use of energy, infrastructure and water resources. Students will gain a deep understanding of the cultural and spatial design history of public spa baths with readings of texts and diagrams by Giedion, Montaigne, Paracelsus, films by Fellini and Tarkovsky, analysis of plans as well as images by Palladio, Roni Horn, and Japanese Edo prints. Pathway: Spatial Design Studies