堀田湯

東京都足立区。昭和17年から続く住宅街の中に佇む銭湯。
外観は東京の銭湯の特徴でもある、立派な宮造りの屋根を持つ。
いつもブライダル施設の設計をさせていただいている会社の社長（この銭湯の３代目）から声をかけていただき、今の時代にあった銭湯にアップデートしたいとのことだった。
今まで様々な案件をデザインしてきたが、まさか銭湯の設計に関わるとは思ってもみなかった。
まずは、社長と一緒に銭湯を巡り歩き、今の時代にふさわしい銭湯とはどうあるべきか考えた。
ほぼ全ての家に浴室が備わっている現代において、銭湯にいくことはどういうことなのだろうか？。
一番感じた事は、どこの銭湯に行っても、様々な年代の人間が皆、気持ちよさそうに、幸せな顔を浮かべながら入浴していた。
地域の人、サウナーの人、世代、性別を問わず、皆が楽しめる業態なんて存在したんだ、とも思った。
様々な客層に対して居心地が良いと感じる、清潔感を感じられる素材やデザインが重要だと考えた。
また、８０年経過していた建物は、大黒柱の傷みや屋根の雨漏り、床や梁の傾きなどあり、直さなければならないところは最優先して修理した。
修理を進めるにつれ、残した方が良いと思うところも出てきた。全てを綺麗に変えてしまうのは、銭湯ではなくなってしまうと感じたからである。
銭湯はスーパー銭湯でもなく、スパでもなく、あくまで公衆浴場であることを強く意識した。
また、以前からの建物の特徴は、より明確に強く特徴づけることを意識した。
例えば、浴室の立派なタイル絵は補修、一部復元してそのまま残し、上部から間接照明で照らした。それ以外の浴槽やカランのタイル、配管は全てやりかえた。
元々あった大きな男性露天風呂は、周囲を塀で整え大きな木を残し、青空のもと気持ちよく外気浴できる空間に整理した。露天風呂の周りを１周できる動線を新たに設け、塀沿いにサウナ後に外気浴できる椅子を配置できるように空間にゆとりを持たせた。露天には新たに水深160センチの水風呂を設けた。
脱衣室の天井は、塞がれていた板を撤去し、格天井を修理、一部復元した。
エントランスは、銭湯という性格上、唯一外観のみ写真撮影が許される場所でもあると考えたため、写真映えするように考えた。宮造りの大屋根とシンメトリーになるように、入り口を建物中央に移動させ、上部にネオンサインを配し、暖簾をくぐって入る入り口に変えた。また、外壁を錆色のルーバーで囲い、銭湯の風情のある外観に整えた。
近年のサウナ流行もあり、専門のサウナプロデュースを取り入れて、サウナーにも人気のサウナ設備（薬草サウナ、ウォーリューサウナ）を設置した。
風情や情緒あるものは残し、それ以外は、皆が清潔感を感じられるように整えたことにより、地域の人、サウナーの人、世代、性別を問わず、皆が心地よいと思う空間になったのではないかと思う。
photo:Nacasa&partners

Adachi-ku, Tokyo. A public bath that has been standing in a residential area since 1945.
The exterior has a splendid palace-built roof, which is a characteristic of public baths in Tokyo.
The president of the company (the third generation of this sento), who always designs bridal facilities, asked me to update to the sento that was in the present era.
He has designed various projects, but I never thought he would be involved in the design of a public bath.
First of all, I went around the public bath with the president and thought about what the public bath should be suitable for this era.
What does it mean to go to a public bath in the present age when almost all houses have bathrooms? ..
What I felt most was that no matter where I went to the public bath, people of all ages were bathing comfortably with happy faces.
I also thought that there was a business format that everyone could enjoy, regardless of local people, sauna people, generations, or gender.
I thought it was important to have materials and designs that made me feel comfortable and clean for various customer groups.
In addition, the 80-year-old building was repaired with the highest priority on areas that had to be repaired due to damage to the central pillars, leaks from the roof, and tilting of the floor and beams.
As the repair progressed, some places I thought it would be better to leave it. I felt that if everything was refurbished cleanly, it would no longer be a public bath.
I was strongly aware that the public bath was neither a super public bath nor a spa, but a public bath.
Also, I was conscious of the characteristics of the building from before, which are more clearly and strongly characterized.
For example, a fine tile painting in the bathroom was repaired, partially restored and left as it was, and illuminated from above with indirect lighting. All other bathtubs, faucet tiles, and plumbing were replaced.
The large men’s open-air bath that originally existed was arranged in a space where you can comfortably bathe in the open air under the blue sky, leaving behind a large tree with a fence around it. A new space has been created around the open-air bath where you can take a break after the sauna. A new water bath with a depth of 160 cm was installed in the open air.
For the ceiling of the dressing room, the board that had been blocked was removed, and the ceiling was repaired and partially restored.
Because of the nature of the public bath, I thought that only the exterior was a place where I could take pictures, so I thought about making it look good. The entrance was moved to the center of the building so that it was symmetrical to the large roof of the palace, and a neon sign was placed at the top to change it into an entrance that passed through the curtain. In addition, the outer wall was surrounded by rust-colored louvers to give it a tasteful appearance of a public bath.
Due to the recent trend of saunas, we have installed specialized sauna equipment (medicinal herb sauna, warrior sauna), which is also popular for saunas.
By leaving the atmosphere and emotional things behind and making it so that everyone can feel cleanliness, it has become a space that everyone feels comfortable regardless of the local people, sauna people, generations, and genders. I think that.
photo: Nacasa & partners