We speak to design duo Something & Son about their latest project, Barking Bathhouse, a sustainable spa and bar for the local community.
When you think of a luxury sustainable spa destination, Barking — the suburban town in North-East London — is probably the last place that would spring to mind. This summer, however, it became home to the Barking Bathhouse, a sustainable spa and bar created by East London design practice Something & Son. Boasting a beach, sauna and ‘cucumber canopy’, its design and concept has been heralded from The Dagenham Post through to design press such as Wallpaper and Dezeen.
It’s not unusual for the design studio Something & Son, (made up of Andy Merritt and Paul Smyth), to subvert expectations. Their previous projects, including Dalston’s Farm:Shop — a fully functioning aquaponics farm built inside a small café — have certainly broken the mould of conventional sustainable design. What ties their projects together, they explain, are their values and ethos. “There are always two aspects that underpin a Something & Son Project,” explains Andy, “It considers how to be social and environmental. Not necessarily both, but it’s always at least one of them.”
The Bathhouse project, backed by Dagenham Council, was conceived to create a focal place for the community — an enjoyable and luxurious retreat to spend the day, whether in the relaxation areas, ice rooms, saunas or bar. The concept’s origin comes from Barking’s heritage and also its future. A popular bathhouse once stood as the centre of the community, and the council were looking for ways to re-engage Londoners to appreciate this quiet pocket of East London.

We think you can make a design that is both fun and beautiful but also serves a purpose.

The spa idea seemed a natural fit. “We tried to find something that had a universal appeal; something people would travel to,” the pair explains. Despite the luxury concept of the spa, the design of the space has a laid back and welcoming atmosphere, which, coupled with reduced prices for local residents, makes it a popular place for all types of people: “We were trying to bring back the everyday experience of a spa, rather than the expensive elitist thing. The Bathhouse has been designed to be a more sociable space, to normalise the whole ‘spa’ idea.”
The design is strikingly simple with towering dark wooden walls and a winding maze of corridors and rooms, inspired by both Barking’s industrial heritage and the beach huts on the nearby Essex coastline. “We’re always thinking about how we can pair everything down to form a simple experience,” Paul explains. “We tend to over-spec and over-design things in this country whereas the most important thing in a sauna experience is a hot fire in a room. And that’s really simple.”
Most importantly, the space is designed to function as far more than a traditional pop-up, instead leaving a lasting legacy for the community. “We wondered whether it was enough to do an art project for a short period of time and then let it disappear,” explains Paul. “We think there’s always an opportunity to leave something behind.”
In this instance, they’ve teamed up with the council to allow five local practitioners to continue running their own businesses off the back of the Bathhouse, be it in health and beauty or construction. Moreover, the buildings have been designed so that they too can have an after-life, with each element of the space constructed on sleepers so that they can be easily transported to a new location. As they aptly put it: “Good design is sustainable design now, they’re not separate issues. You can’t design something that’s not going to function long term in society.”
It certainly seems like engaging with local communities is an important part of every project, from the Farm:Shop to their latest 3D printing project, a community collaboration in association with Manor House council to develop, ‘the first info-sculpture in the world.’ “We always aim to get the masses on board,” explains Paul. “We’re not interested in communicating with just designers or artists.”
And as they succinctly conclude, “We think you can make a design that is both fun and beautiful but also serves a purpose. Our ethos is that we have to try to make the world a bit better and raise some issues that need to be raised. But we don’t think you have to make it boring or dry to do that.” We couldn’t agree more.

http://www.somethingandson.com