Swim heaven –
ceiling tiles for Paracelsus Pool and Spa in Salzburg

Having a sauna and swimming in an architecturally appealing atmosphere – that’s now possible in the new Paracelsus swimming pool and spa rooms in Salzburg. The newbuild designed by the Vienna-based architects Berger+Parkkinen is a purist and modern structure offering views of the surroundings. The ceramic elements developed as a customized solution for this newbuild project form an undulating wave ceiling draped like a celestial canopy over the swimming and spa facilities.

The newbuild continues the history of this place in a very special way: on this site stood the Actien Badehaus, public baths, back in 1868. The Paracelsusbad built as its successor after the Second World War by architect Josef Havranek in 1950s style made way for the newbuild after having been open to the public for just under 60 years.

Undulating wave ceiling

Key feature of the newbuild designed by Berger+Parkkinen is its compact structure. The facade consists of vertical ceramic lamellar elements, which are interrupted on third floor by a curved floor-to-ceiling strip of light. Particularly charming is the curved wave ceiling over the swimming facilities. It consists of hundreds of Tonality ceiling tiles covering an area of almost 1 000 square metres. The ceramic tiles with their glossy white surfaces are matched to the overall colour concept of the pool landscape. The substructure has been constructed as a suspended ceiling. Each aluminium support box is fitted with a Tonality element. The entire structure is fixed to wire cables. The substructure has been planned with safety aspects as a priority so that no ceramic parts can come loose and fall down.

Ceramic know-how

The main reason for the choice of these ceramic tiles was their unique surface quality. “The elegant, natural look of the tiles contributes to the pleasant atmosphere in the pool and spa facility. Together with the other materials used, they make for a harmonious overall concept,” say the architects Alfred Berger and Tiina Parkkinen. “With Tonality we have found a manufacturer with the ceramic know-how to think out of the box and make products accordingly. This made it possible for us to realize our vision of a swim and spa heaven,“ say the architects.