Project Title: The Black Taj – The Architecture of Bathing

By: Charlotte May

*Honorable Mention Entry of The Black Taj Competition  

The Architecture of Bathing: Agra and the Mughals

In the heart of Agra, across the Yamuna from the Taj Mahal, The Architecture of Bathing by Charlotte May explores how heritage architecture can be reinterpreted as a space of ritual, reflection, and repose. The project bridges centuries — revisiting the Mughal hammam (public bath) as both an architectural typology and a cultural experience, transforming it into a living dialogue between the sacred and the sensory.

Rediscovering Mughal Bathing Culture

During the Mughal era, bathing was more than a physical act — it was a spiritual and social ritual. The hammams of Agra were carefully designed to balance geometry, proportion, and atmosphere. They served as places for rejuvenation, conversation, and contemplation — a vital extension of urban life.

Charlotte May’s proposal reimagines this tradition within a modern context. With public bathing regaining cultural relevance globally, her design envisions a space that honors history while offering a sanctuary for locals and visitors alike — where architectural heritage and wellness architecture merge.

Spatial Narrative: Water, Light, and Stone

The design unfolds as a sequence of sensory experiences defined by material, texture, and temperature. Visitors enter through a shaded lookout, gradually transitioning from the bright landscape of Agra into the still, echoing interior of the bathhouse.

Each chamber — from private bathing niches to communal pools — is choreographed to heighten awareness of one’s body, surroundings, and the distant silhouette of the Taj Mahal. Red sandstone walls and reflective water surfaces create a muted dialogue between enclosure and openness, mirroring Mughal ideals of paradise — water as life, reflection as divinity.

Reinterpreting the Taj Mahal’s Geometry

At the core of the project lies a precise geometric and spatial relationship with the Taj Mahal. The plan mirrors the Mughal garden’s axial organization, aligning visual corridors toward the mausoleum. Openings are carefully framed to capture vignettes of the Taj — a reminder of love, loss, and transcendence.

Sections and plans reveal how the new structure integrates within the historical urban fabric without competing with its monumental neighbor. Instead, it extends the legacy of Mughal sacred architecture, translating its spiritual vocabulary into a contemporary idiom.

Material and Atmosphere

The architectural language remains rooted in Agra’s traditional materials — red sandstone, marble, and water — but their composition shifts toward minimalism. Light filters through narrow apertures, diffusing softly onto curved vaults and bathing pools. The atmosphere is meditative: warm, tactile, and timeless.

This reinterpretation celebrates the Mughal aesthetic of balance — between form and void, body and soul, nature and architecture. Through its spatial rhythm, the building becomes both a physical and emotional journey — one that connects the present with the memory of empire and craftsmanship.

Architecture as Cultural Continuity

The Architecture of Bathing questions how contemporary architecture can engage with cultural memory without resorting to imitation. Charlotte May’s proposal situates the act of bathing as a universal gesture — of cleansing, renewal, and togetherness — and uses it as a metaphor for healing collective identity.

Her design does not merely reconstruct a Mughal bath; it resurrects a forgotten ritual through modern sensibility. The project becomes a living monument — not to death, like the Taj Mahal, but to continuity and communion.

In reimagining Mughal hammams, The Architecture of Bathing creates a timeless architectural dialogue between water, body, and memory. It stands as both a tribute to Mughal innovation and a contemporary reflection on how spaces of ritual can nurture public and cultural well-being.

This Honorable Mention entry of The Black Taj competition reveals how heritage-inspired architecture can transcend history — shaping environments where the past flows seamlessly into the future.