2nd Place; Spa Island by Karol Palka

Although it is small in size, the country of Slovakia is rich in springs of natural healing water. Spa culture has been a part of the Slovakian lifestyle for hundreds of years, and has become part of a secular ritual for some. In 1947 a special balneological congress decided to divide the approximately 50 Slovak spa localities into three categories of importance: international importance, national importance and local importance. This project examines the ways in which the architecture of spas allows those establishments to be spaces of ritual and community.