Spa Places in the News
Toskana Therme Bad Schandau - Liquid
Sound® - Bathing in Light and Music
On the 1st October 2004, 2 years after the great flood,
the thermal baths on the banks of the Elbe in Bad Schandau will reopen
with a fascinating new concept. Visitors to Bad Schandau will have already
seen the sign outside the almost completely renovated thermal baths
announcing the "Toskana Therme Bad Schandau": a stretched
out body floats in enticing-looking waters lit with coloured lights.
Above it are written the words "Liquid Sound". What can this
mean?
In the last ten years, the Liquid Sound® concept has
become famous worldwide through the success of the Toskana Therme Bad
Sulza and the Liquidrom Therme Berlin. The planners, artists and owners
responsible for the Toskana Therme in Bad Sulza have come up with further
ideas to do with "bathing in light and music" for Bad Schandau
and hope to bring new impulses to the historic spa town on the Elbe.
Guests from near and far, visitors from Dresden, the "Sächsischen
Schweiz" and neighbouring Czech Republic are invited to partake
of a bathing experience like no other. The motto: Dive into another
world!
For example, the heavily damaged thermal bath has been
rebuilt to become a "Liquid Sound Temple". An excellent underwater
sound system provides a contemplative, meditative environment in which
the joys of music and of water are united. In the body-temperature saline
waters of the pool, one can drift away into a world of colours, light
and sound, a water-world of dreams. Such a pool has often been described
as "a water-filled concert hall". Why becomes immediately
clear as soon as one enters the bath. Those who lie back with their
ears under water, floating in the saline waters will not only experience
wonderful sounds, but will feast their eyes: the planetarium-like dome
of the roof over the bath is covered in a 360° projection. The video
artist Tina Zimmermann has designed a composition of colours and moving
structures especially for this space which give the baths an individual
and extraordinary aesthetic. Characteristically for Liquid-Sound, the
multimedia art concept complements the gentle soothing movements of
people and sound in the water and can be enjoyed with the eyes closed
or open. Immersion in this water world is relaxing, revitalising and
inspiring all at the same time.
The large pool of the Toskana Therme Bad Schandau will
also feature Liquid Sound® coming from underwater loudspeakers and
special tonal columns. After dark, coloured light projections set the
room alight reflecting off the water and the roof.
Just as in the Liquid Sound® thermal baths in Bad Sulza and Berlin,
the Toskana Therme Bad Schandau will also feature live-concerts and
performances in and around and under water. The gallery becomes a stage,
the bathers an audience. The performers are artists, all of whom have
come to experiment with the rich interactions offered by water and music.
The Toskana Therme is a bath for all the senses, nose
included: aromas subtly fill the room. With the pattern of the day and
the seasons, not only do the music and light programmes change but also
the composition of aromas.
Only a few steps away from the large pool awaits a further
attraction: in the park-like setting of the Toskana Therme Bad Schandau
a "fine spray mist projection" will be visible. On a 'cloud'
of fine sprayed steam, colours and patterns will be projected in the
evenings: ghost-like three-dimensional figures and manifestations which
change shape depending upon the wind direction and strength. The fascinating
play of nature and high-technology can best be seen from the outdoor
pool. Water and wind, colour and light produce ever new fantastic flying
images. And all the while, the Elbe flows on gently past.
An overview of the Liquid Sound® installation
in the Toskana Therme Bad Schandau
In the separate Liquid Sound Temple of the thermal baths
in Bad Schandau, the emphasis is on the special quality of hearing under
water: the baths as a concert hall. The clear underwater sound is the
basis and starting point for the creation of an environment which addresses
all the senses: an atmospheric play of light and colour and a 360°
projection in the dome of the temple. The body-temperature saline waters
of the Liquid Sound Pool provide a supportive and relaxing environment
for floating and listening.
4 loudspeakers in the floor and 6 in the wall underwater
as well as a further 8 spherical sound audio systems (sound columns)
ensure a balanced and continuous sound environment both above and below
the water.
The most spectacular visual effect comes from special
video projectors who project image worlds into the half-round dome of
the Liquid Sound Temple. Wherever one floats, the view is another dome-filling
panorama. And at the uppermost point, the dome comes together as a light-filled
geometric symbol, the "Flower of Life".
The artistic play of light, sound and water is continued
in the great hall of the Toskana Therme Bad Schandau. Depending upon
light level and programming, 14 swivelling colour-driven spots radiate
light across the roof and through and out of the roof glazing or play
across the water's surface, the walls and ceilings. The light system
can produce gentle atmospheric moods or, for live-performances, can
be programmed as a theatre-light. For live events, the gallery is transformed
into a stage and the performers are lit. Living up to the Liquid Sound®
motto "a water-filled concert hall", the Therme will also
become an arena for concerts at specific announced times, a synthesis
of the primeval element of water with the rhythms of the body.
A further highlight of the great hall is a programmable
aroma system, which can produce specific compositions of aromas to fit
the occasion.
Outside, next to the outdoor basin, a 14 m long fine mist
spray projection along the bank of the Elbe will provide a spectacular
and innovative attraction. In the evenings, a mist of fine steam is
sprayed from 5m high columns to form a notional bidirectional projection
screen upon which images are projected from 2 projectors, changing their
3D-form and ghostly apparitions depending upon the wind.
In all areas of the thermal baths, indoors and outdoors,
the spherical sound system (sound columns) provide excellent and continuous
sound quality.
Numerous multimedia elements are computer-controlled and
freely programmable. Liquid-Sound functions as an interplay of hardware
and software tempered by nature, always related to the element of water
and providing bathing guests with an ever-changing programme. The kind
of music played above and below the water, whether pre-programmed or
live has a therapeutic effect for the bathing guests.
The musical selection in Bad Schandau will take up the
theme established in the Toskana Therme Bad Sulza and Liquidrom Berlin
and complement these with contributions from local artists and artistic
institutions.
What is … Liquid Sound®?
Liquid Sound® is the name for a permanently-installed
computer-controlled multi-media system for the complementary production
of sound, light and video over and under water. Liquid Sound® is
a contemporary, contemplative and relaxing means of enjoying music.
Liquid Sound® has proven itself in the Toskana Therme Bad Sulza
as a catalyser for regional revitalisation. Liquid Sound® has achieved
worldwide recognition in the sister Therme, the Liquidrom in Berlin
and through the Expo 2000 project. The concept is the brainchild of
media artist Micky Remann, whose initial interest in the underwater
worlds of whales and dolphins sparked off the idea of Liquid Sound.
He is now cultural director and "myth manager" for Liquid
Sound.
What is … the Toskana Therme Bad Sulza ?
In 1999 the Toskana Therme Bad Sulza was opened as the
first ever thermal baths to implement the Liquid Sound® concept
of "bathing in light and music". With its spectacular architecture
and musical and cultural programme, the Toskana Therme quickly became
established as a favourite pastime for bathers of all ages, from all
over Germany, indeed from all over the world. The innovative approach
was recognised by the EXPO 2000 who adopted "Liquid Sound in the
Tuscany of the East" as an officially registered worldwide project
in the category "Health and the Future". The media attention
also attracted much interest, especially in the many wellness offerings
with which Liquid Sound can be used, such as Aqua Wellness, body work
in warm water. The Toskana Therme attracts 400,000 visitors per year
and together with the Hotel an der Therme has provided strong impulses
for the region's economic development. International parties have sought
consultation from the man and wife team Klaus Dieter Böhm and Marion
Schneider, operators of the Toskana Therme and the Hotel, interested
in the key to their successful concept.
What is … the Liquidrom Berlin ?
In May 2002, the Liquidrom Berlin opened in the Neuen
Tempodrom at the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin as the first Liquid Sound
Day Spa. The concept fits perfectly in the lively capital city. With
a programme of regular live concerts at full moon, DJ-evenings in the
Liquidrom club, jazz or classical music programmes, poetry readings
and light-art-water events, the Liquidrom has quickly established its
unmistakable profile in the cultural capital of Germany. The team of
Micky Remann as artistic director and operators Klaus Dieter Böhm
and Marion Schneider has once again proven successful in Berlin.
For more information, contact:
Marion Schneider
Toskana Therme
CEO
www.toskana-therme.de
$50-
