As early as in the late nineteenth century when bubonic plague was severe, public bathhouses had appeared in the form of matshed and accommodated in rental tenements by the government in the City of Victoria. With a view to providing a desirable public health environment, the first public bathhouse was constructed in Wan Chai in 1903, in which time the amended Public Health and Buildings Ordinance came to effect. Numbers of public bathhouses serving the poor working Chinese in the City of Victoria followed. Not until 1925 public bathhouses were built beyond the Hong Kong Island, constructions reached its peak during the post-war years of 1950s – 1960s. As at 2012, a total number of 28 public bathhouses are managed to survive in Hong Kong. According to the statistics provided by the government reports, average daily attendance of a public bathhouse was high before the wartime. Today, though many members of the society find odd on their existence, they remain servicing in some older districts where poor housing accommodation still exists. This dissertation aims at, by desktop study on the public bathhouse in urban Hong Kong (those on the Hong Kong Island in particular) and the referential instances of the development of public bathhouse in history and it in the Great Britain and the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the Imperial China (Chapter 1), to trace the development of the public bathhouse in Hong Kong, how it reflects the development of the society and the community (Chapters 2 & 3), to provide a list of inventory of the general design and basic information for those surviving on the Hong Kong Island (Chapter 4) and to raise questions on the cultural significances and the means of conservation of such changing (and disappearing) heritage item that relates to the way we live (Chapter 5). The scope of the research is confined to the public bathhouses managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (The Sanitary Board and Urban Council as the forerunners) on the Hong Kong Island (7 nos. in total) where the first public bathhouse in Hong Kong was built and some long-standing ones still exist, meanwhile post-war constructions in various phases are available. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Detroit Mercy, 2010. / "April 28, 2008". Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-127).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis presents an inquiry into the nature of and history behind public thermal bathhouses, as well as a design proposal for a new and uniquely site-based public thermal bathhouse structure, the form of which has been developed with an eye toward typology. The research and writings of this thesis explore the topic of public thermal bathhouses, both as historic phenomena and viable places of congregation still relevant and of great importance to healthy and vital contemporary communities. An effort has been made to demonstrate that written histories, archaeological landmarks, and contemporary international urban communities throughout the world provide ample documentation in support of the notion that public thermal bath houses both served and continue to serve an integral role within healthy, vital and sustainable cultures. The physical modeling, drawings and sketches of this thesis develop ideas about form and materiality, and explore and bring together discreet architectural phenomena into a singular, formal, proposal for a prototypical public bath house typology, one whose program and form are well suited to a contemporary small town within the United States. At present, the ritual of public bathing exists within the United States, at best, far outside main stream culture as a singular, sensational event such as a hot spring or a commercial, private day spa- neither of which retain any semblance of the core principals, typological rituals, degree of sensory immersion, or whole-body therapy that define the essence of a more traditional and timeless public bathing experience. It is the intention of this thesis to present a compelling case for why a public bathhouse not only could exist on the current American landscape, but moreover why it should, and if so, what form it might take.

Poon Ho Lun Allen. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 1999-2000, design report." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-128). / Acknowledgment --- p.i / Contents --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Issues and Goal / Chapter 2. --- Project Background --- p.3 / Chapter 2.1 --- The Theme / Chapter 2.2 --- Personal Feeling / Chapter 2.3 --- Architectural Experience / Chapter 2.4 --- Views towards Man and Nature / Chapter 2.5 --- Sense and Perception / Chapter 2.6 --- On reading Thoreau / Chapter 2.7 --- Deficiencies / Chapter 2.8 --- Issues Identification / Chapter 2.9 --- Proposition / Chapter 3. --- Subject Analysis --- p.23 / Chapter 3.1 --- The Ritual of Bath / Chapter 3.2 --- Water: the Symbol of Regeneration / Chapter 3.3 --- Bathing Today / Chapter 3.4 --- Present Situation in Hong Kong / Chapter 3.5 --- Precedents studies / Chapter 4. --- Site Selection --- p.49 / Chapter 4.1 --- Criteria / Chapter 4.2 --- Overview of the Selected Site / Chapter 5. --- Project Brief --- p.51 / Chapter 5.1 --- Client Profile / Chapter 5.2 --- Site and Context / Chapter 5.3 --- Space Program / Chapter 6. --- The Design --- p.70 / Chapter 6.1 --- Establishment of Concepts / Chapter 6.2 --- Topic Research / Chapter 6.3 --- Concept Development (1) / Chapter 6.4 --- Concept Development (2) / Chapter 6.5 --- Building Designs 6.6 Final Product / Chapter 6. --- Bibliography 127 / Chapter 7. --- Appendices --- p.129 / Chapter 7.1 --- Schedule of Accomodations / Chapter 7.2 --- Reference Materials / Chapter 7.3 --- Newspaper Cuttings

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2004. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 17, 2005). Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-407).

Chiu Chui Ying Janus. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2005-2006, design report." / Includes bibliographical references.

O ser humano está constantemente exposto a diversas fontes de radiação. Dentre elas, destacam-se as fontes naturais, que atingem a população mundial a uma taxa relativamente constante durante um longo período de tempo. Estima-se que a dose anual média recebida pela população devido às fontes naturais seja de 2,4 mSv a-1. Alguns balneários e spas encontrados pelo mundo são de grande importância quando se consideram os aspectos de proteção radiológica, pois concentram concentrações significativas de radionuclídeos, como por exemplo, o gás 222Rn. Embasado nisto, foi realizada a dosimetria de Rn222 no ar para trabalhadores e indivíduos do público em dois balneários brasileiros, o balneário municipal de Águas de Lindóia no estado de São Paulo e o balneário Thermas Antônio Carlos, na cidade de Poços de Caldas, estado de Minas Gerais. Utilizou-se o método de detecção passiva, com o uso de detectores sólidos de traços do tipo CR-39® (Columbia Resin) inseridos em câmaras de difusão do tipo NRBP® (National Radiological Protection Board). As concentrações de Rn222 no ar variaram de 27 ± 4 Bq m-3 a 16451 ± 298 Bq m-3 para o balneário municipal de Águas de Lindóia e de 35 ± 3 Bq m-3 a 156 ± 4 Bq m-3 para o balneário Thermas Antônio Carlos. Foram considerados três cenários de exposição para a avaliação de dose nos dois balneários. O primeiro cenário corresponde à exposição dos trabalhadores que aplicam os banhos termais nos usuários, o segundo cenário corresponde à exposição dos trabalhadores que realizam manutenções nas fontes termais e o terceiro cenário abrange os frequentadores assíduos dos banhos termais. Os valores de dose efetiva encontrados no balneário municipal de Águas de Lindóia e no balneário Thermas Antônio Carlos, respectivamente, considerando o 1° cenário variam de 0,10 a 0,34 mSv a-1 e 0,17 a 0,33 mSv a-1. Os valores encontrados, considerando o 2° cenário variam de 0,24 a 9,9 mSv a-1 para o balneário municipal de Águas de Lindóia e de 0,03 a 0,09 mSv a-1 para o balneário Thermas Antônio Carlos. Considerando o 3° cenário, os valores de dose encontrados variam de 0,01 a 0,02 mSv a-1 para ambos balneários. / Human beings are constantly exposed to different sources of radiation. Among them, the natural sources, which reach the world\'s population at a relatively constant rate for a long period of time, are highlighted. It is estimated that the average annual dose received by the population due to natural sources is 2.4 mSv y-1. Some bathhouses and spas found around the world are of great importance when considering the aspects of radiological protection, because they concentrate significant concentrations of radionuclides, for instance, the 222Rn gas. Based on this, the dosimetry of 222Rn in the air was performed for workers and individuals of the public in two brazilian bathhouses; Águas de Lindóia municipal bathhouse in the state of São Paulo and Thermas Antônio Carlos bathhouse in the city of Poços de Caldas, state of Minas Gerais. The passive detection method was used, with the use of solid detectors of type CR-39® (Columbia Resin) inserted in diffusion chambers of the type NRBP® (National Radiological Protection Board). The concentrations of 222Rn in the air ranged from 27 ± 4 Bq m-3 to 16451 ± 298 Bq m-3 for the Águas de Lindóia Municipal bathhouse and 35 ± 3 Bq m-3 to 156 ± 4 Bq m-3 for the Thermas Antônio Carlos bathhouse. Three exposure scenarios were considered for the dose assessment in both bathhouses. The first scenario corresponds to the exposure of workers who apply thermal baths to users, the second scenario corresponds to the exposure of workers who perform maintenance in the hot springs and the third scenario covers the assiduous regulars of the thermal baths. The effective dose values found in the Águas de Lindóia Municipal bathhouse and in the Thermas Antônio Carlos bathhouse, respectively, considering the first scenario range from 0.10 to 0.34 mSv y-1 and 0.17 to 0.33 mSv y-1. The value found, considering the second scenario range from 0.24 to 9.9 mSv y-1 to the Águas de Lindóia bathhouse and from 0.03 to 0.09 mSv y-1 to the Thermas Antônio Carlos bathhouse. Considering the third scenario, the dose values found range from 0.01 to 0.02 mSv y-1 for both bathhouses.

Mineral springs were a popular aspect of American culture prior to World War II. In conjunction with the rest of the United States, Texas offered visitors numerous locations for people to “take the waters.” Unfortunately, for various reasons, the springs fell out of favor and the buildings associated with them were largely abandoned. I briefly discuss the history of the springs through the ages and then move onto a discussion of the different styles of architecture associated with the springs in the United States and how these styles differed in Texas. Due to the loss of architecture associated with the mineral springs in Texas, this paper uses Heath, Oc, and Tiesdell’s five forms of obsolescence to analyze the reasons for failures in adaptive reuse, discusses the successes, and presents some extant buildings where futures are undetermined. In order to answer these questions, I gathered a collection of case studies, focusing on locations in Texas, but including several from the United States and Europe. I analyzed these case studies and gathered information from the result of the studies to deduce why the forms of obsolescence could not be overcome, and how some sites differed and successfully surmounted these difficulties. / text