Three events across New York explore bathing architecture, landscape and the role of water as a space for collective experience.

This October, Basalt will take part in three events in New York exploring the architecture and culture of bathing — from Iceland’s contemporary bathing landscapes to questions of public space, ritual and belonging.

The programme begins on 2 October with SOAK: The Radical Act of Bathing Together at Scandinavia House, part of Taste of Iceland. Bringing together architecture, design and perspectives on public life, the event asks what bathing culture can teach us about designing spaces for belonging. Speakers include Basalt partner and SOAK curator Marcos Zotes, Kristín Eva Ólafsdóttir of Gagarín, architect and author Christie Pearson and Miodrag Mitrašinović, Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at Parsons School of Design, with the discussion moderated by Andri Snær Magnason. The event draws on SOAK: Rituals of Collective Belonging, Iceland’s contribution to the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Read more about the event and register HERE.

Earlier the same day, Basalt partners Hrólfur Karl Cela and Perla Dís Kristinsdóttir return to Parsons School of Design, where they both studied architecture, for a public lecture titled Architecture of Bathing. They will present Basalt’s recent work in volcanic landscapes, the development of SOAK for the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale, and current projects in the United States.

On 8 October, Marcos Zotes returns to Columbia GSAPP, where he graduated from the M.S. Advanced Architectural Design programme, for Bathing in Extreme Landscapes. The lecture will look at Basalt’s work at the intersection of architecture and landscape and the ways geothermal infrastructure has been transformed into places for bathing and social life. It will also trace how these built projects have informed SOAK and its investigation of the geothermal pool as a form of public space.
Read more about the event here at Columbia Architecture.

Together, the three events offer different perspectives on a subject that has shaped Basalt’s work for more than two decades: how architecture, water and landscape can come together to create spaces for shared experience.

2 October — Architecture of Bathing, Hrólfur Karl Cela + Perla Dís Kristinsdóttir
Parsons School of Design
12:15 pm

2 October — SOAK: The Radical Act of Bathing Together
Scandinavia House
4–6 pm

8 October — Bathing in Extreme Landscapes, Marcos Zotes
Columbia GSAPP, Avery 114
6 pm