7132

Peter Zumthor's thermal bathhouse in Vals, built from 60,000 quartzite slabs, with pools from 14°C to 42°C in a Swiss heritage landmark.

There are spas, and then there is 7132.

Completed in 1996 by architect Peter Zumthor, the thermal bathhouse in Vals is built entirely from 60,000 locally quarried quartzite slabs, stacked and cantilevered in a structure that evokes a mountain quarry from the outside and, inside, creates a constant interplay between intimate chambers and vast, cave-like bathing halls. The building was granted protected heritage status shortly after completion. It remains one of the most significant works of twentieth-century architecture in Switzerland.

Six pools range from the Ice Pool at 14°C to the Fire Pool at 42°C, with the Blossom Pool and Spring Pool offering gentler gradations between. Water from the St Peter spring runs through all of them. The ritual of moving between temperatures (cold plunge, warm soak, steam) is the spa’s oldest logic, and Zumthor’s spaces execute it with extraordinary spatial intelligence. On certain evenings the baths open under the night sky.

The hotel complex has since expanded to include architectural visions from Tadao Ando, Kengo Kuma, and Thom Mayne alongside the original. Three MICHELIN establishments operate within the walls, including the Two-Starred 7132 Silver restaurant. Signature treatments such as the Stamp Massage with Alpine Herbs extend the therapeutic programme beyond water.

Hotel guests access the baths directly from their rooms via a private elevator, robes on. As transitions between architecture and water go, it is unimprovable.