The complex of this thermal swimming area is an organically formed work of mature Functionalist architecture, with great sensitivity to the natural surroundings – one of the architect’s best achievements. It was constructed in the late 1930s, during the greatest flourishing of the thermal spa of Trenčianske Teplice, on a south-facing slope above the spa area, with thermal water piped upwards from the valley. Construction was divided into three stages. Building I contained all of the main operational spaces, including a pool of 33.3 x 12 m. Building II was a bowling alley, and III a children’s area with a shallow circular pool. In the design, Fuchs devoted great attention to the enrichment of his previously highly austere Functionalist forms, and used pure, artistically refined means to create a work of functional clarity that fitted organically into the surroundings. The rich colours and range of materials emphasises the architectural richness of the baths; the structural framing is subtle yet also fully load-bearing. The ‘Green Frog’ is one of the great works of late Czechoslovak functionalism, and was regarded by the architect as one of his two personal favourites.
Bibliography:
Ing. arch. K.: Termálne kúpalisko "Zelená žaba" v Trenčianskych Tepliciach. Slovenský staviteľ 8, 1938, s. 237.
KOUDĚLKA, Zdeněk: Bohuslav Fuchs. Praha, NČSVU 1966. 147 s.
FOLTYN, Ladislav: Slovakische Architektur und die tschechische Avantgarde 1918 – 1939. Dresden, Verlag des Kunst 1991. 236 s.
CRHONEK, Ivan: Architekt Bohuslav Fuchs. Celoživotné dílo. Brno, Petrov 1995. 197 s.
MRŇA, Ľubomír: Kúpalisko Zelená žaba. Architektúra & urbanizmus 29, 1995, 1 – 2, s. 134 – 137.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta H.: Architekt Bohuslav Fuchs – Architektonická a teoretická práca na Slovensku. Architektúra & urbanizmus 30, 1996, 4, s. 215 – 222.
DULLA, Matúš – MORAVČÍKOVÁ, Henrieta: Architektúra Slovenska v 20. storočí. Bratislava, Slovart 2002. 512 s.
Architektúra na Slovensku. Stručné dejiny. Ed. Henrieta Moravčíková. Bratislava, Slovart 2005. 182 s.
SZALAY Peter, PILNÝ Ivan: Bola Zelená žaba zelená? Architektonicko-historický a reštaurátorský výskum letného kúpaliska v Trenčianskych Tepliciach. Architektúra & urbanizmus, 44, 2010, 3 – 4. s. 326 – 345.
SZALAY, Peter – PILNÝ, Ivan: Architektonicko-reštaurátorský výskum letného kúpaliska Zelená žaba v Trenčianskych Tepliciach. In: Průzkumy památek 18, 2011, 2, s. 112 – 138.
