Designing atmospheres. The Hotel Thermal in Carlsbad

The architecture and interiors of the Spa Hotel Thermal in Carlsbad (1964/67–77), which includes a large festival cinema, are unique in terms of structure, materials, and artworks. The complex, designed in 1964 in the style of early brutalism, was completed by 1977. The architects Věra Machoninová (b. 1928) and Vladimír Machonin (1920–90), a prominent husband-and-wife team, were extremely successful in the 1960s, but as they refused to support the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, they were subsequently banned from official architectural competitions and publications.
The hotel complex conforms to the site’s natural setting in a bend of the Teplá River, with its tower on a horizontal pedestal standing apart as a counterpoint to the Old Town of what was formerly Carlsbad. The three-storey base is articulated with expansive semi-open terraces that enable a free horizontal flow through public passages. Housing the cinema and conference halls, the pedestal’s three cylindrical forms emphasize the river’s meander and add dynamic energy to the composition’s orthogonality. The hotel tower, a slender volume with 280 rooms, was intended to organically complement the town’s silhouette. The thermal spa, swimming pool, and café are set into the hillside above the hotel, providing unique views of the town.
The interior’s artificial environments create various atmospheric and sensory effects through different colours, forms, and materials. The interior partitions feature typically exterior materials such as washed concrete panels, along with red-coloured wood panels, glass walls, and hydroponic plant vitrines. The main cinema for 1,200 spectators is clad with slate acoustic panels that recall the country’s mountain ranges. Artistic glass installations by René Roubíček (1922–2018) and the duo of Stanislav Libenský (1921–2002) and Jaroslava Brychtová (1924–2020) add delicacy to the concept, with glass columnar fountains forming a ‘glass forest’, as well as a sparkling chandelier of glass tendrils and Roubíček’s ‘mushroom lamps’ in the restaurant. The architects installed custom furniture in rich colours—orange, red, blue, white, green—, such as a tall swivelling armchair for the hotel reception and a low upholstered chair without armrests for café, restaurant, and foyer usage.