We start beside a sparkling Canadian lake with the Grotto Sauna. Its rugged exterior contrasts magnificently with the sweeping, light curves inside, with a skylight and circular window looking out across the lake enhancing the effect. Designed by Canadian studio Partisans, the sauna was carefully planned to minimise its impact on the landscape, but nothing can stop this sauna standing out. (photo Partisans)
Another lakeside sauna perched on rock, but with a completely different effect. The Bands sauna, by Norwegian collective the Scarcity and Creativity Studio, clambers all over the Norwegian Arctic shoreline to form a sauna that fuses water and land.
The One-Man Sauna was the result when German design group Modulorbeat reimagined the mineshafts of the Ruhr, stacking old concrete modules from the mines on top of each other to create a sauna-tower that pays tribute to the region’s industrial heritage. The base module is now a plunge pool, a tiny sauna is in the middle, and the top gives the single user a rooftop relaxation space.
This is officially the biggest sauna in the world, but that’s not the only reason it is in this list. Designed as an amphitheatre that can hold 100 people at one, the Agora sauna combines sleek design based on Sámi fish-drying racks with a stunning island location in the Norwegian Arctic. Want to see it? Better hurry – it was built as part of a mobile cultural project, SALT, so the sauna will close this autumn and move to a new location.
Their language brought the word ‘sauna’ into the global lexicon, so Finns know a thing or two about designing and building them. Located in the northern Finnish ski resort of Ylläs, this gondola-sauna is one of their more unusual ones, giving bathers the best possible view of a Lapland landscape that seems to go on for ever. Just think before stepping outside to cool down.
Getting out of this sauna is tougher than usual, too – the world’s only underwater sauna, this submerged sauna was designed by Daniel Carlsson and built for the Ästad Vingård complex in southern Sweden.
Avanto Architects created what is now a bustling restaurant and sauna as part of an effort to rejuvenate a former industrial area of Helsinki. A frame of distinctive wooden slats creates privacy from within and a staircase to the roof terrace above, offering stunning views of the Gulf of Finland. An opening in the floor lets visitors plunge into the sea below. Images © kuvio.com, courtesy of avan.to
When a community comes together to implement a joint project, the result is rarely a motor-powered sauna-boat. But the people of Seattle created just that - the WA Sauna. Financed by crowdfunding, a team of designers, architects and skilled volunteers used a local brewery’s free warehouse space to build the sauna-vessel. The designers aimed to create something that enabled people to use the water year-round; after heating up inside passengers can dive into the lakes surrounding Seattle. Images: www.gocstudio.com © Kevin Scott
Summer 2008 saw a flotilla of buildings travel down the Ugra River in Russia as part of the Festival of Landscape Objects. A group of international architects looked into the relationship between water and life and came up with a range of diverse structures. The kinetic architecture tour ended in the village of Nikola-Lenivets, where the buildings took up residence as museum exhibits and guest houses.
Lastly, we return to Helsinki where the Finns have combined their two national pastimes – ice hockey and saunas. If you thought all saunas were a calming place for rest and relaxation, think again. This one’s for getting heated and cheering on the Jokerit ice hockey team. You can now watch a game or music concert from the Skybox 408 private box overlooking Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena. Up to 20 fans can watch the action down on the rink and enjoy a steam session behind tinted glass. The private box also features a bar with capacity for 72 people, and a larger seating area.
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