Wohnheim Rothenbrunnen

The new public cafeteria, the fountain pavilion with its adjoining colonnade and the residential home frame the new spa square in Rothenbrunnen. The historic spa building forms the crowning feature of the square and marks the entrance to the town, visible from afar. The historic healing fountain, which is a strong symbol of the town's identity, has been given a fitting new location. Rothenbrunnen is continuing its tradition as a health resort and building a bridge to its current role as a place of healing for people with mental illness.

The warm, iodine-rich healing and mineral spring in the town is the reason for Rothenbrunnen's long tradition as a health resort. The landscape is characterised by steep, rugged rock faces towering directly behind the houses of the street village and flat meadows in the valley of the Hinterrhein. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the spa house at the entrance to the village, which still exists today, was visited by spa guests. The village street, built as a dam above the floodplain of the Hinterrhein, led straight from the country road running parallel to the river to the historic spa house. A side wing with an archway to the village centre framed the spacious spa garden in front of the spa house and at the same time formed a striking entrance to the adjoining street village.

The structural layout of the Rothenbrunnen street village consists of the original houses on Dorfstrasse and the ‘outbuildings’ in the fields. Originally, the “outbuildings” were agricultural buildings. As the village expanded, public buildings such as the existing community centre in the ‘second row’ were also built. The new cafeteria and residential building blend harmoniously into this structure. The single-storey cafeteria is located on the street and connects with the stonemasonry workshop in terms of its materials and position. The new 5-storey residential building is positioned at the same height as the community centre. Its geometry and location refer to the existing ARBES workshops. The new buildings are constructed as timber structures with facades of reddish glazed larch wood. They therefore relate not only in their arrangement but also in their materiality to the existing buildings, in particular the workshops for wood and stone working, thus reinforcing the idea of a unified campus.