Photocred:Hostellerie La Cheneaudière & Spa
These three saunas all share a common trait - not only are they great places to relax, but they’re also architectural masterpieces. Join us for a tour of some of the world’s most artful sauna buildings.
Sauna on the rocks, anyone?
This mind blowing sauna structure stretches out over the rocks on a remote island in Lofoten, Norway. Built in what once used to be an old fishing village, and designed by students from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, it’s an eye-catching addition to the Norwegian archipelago.
The unique sauna is called The Bands, and the imaginative structure consists of three parts, containing a sauna building, a terrace and a sunken hot tub - all with breathtaking views over the Norwegian seascape.
The project was realised during 24 intensive days in the summer of 2015, and every day the team would post updates the their blog: The Bands.
Sauna and clear skies in France
In the beautifully forested area of the Alsace region in France, not far from the German border, a charming spa hotel is offering their guests an exquisite sauna experience. The Hostellerie La Cheneaudière & Spa wanted to pay a tribute to the magnificent views around the hotel, and therefore chose to build a sauna on the top level of the hotel with nothing underneath but columns to support it.
A session in the floating sauna is the perfect ending to a day spent skiing, hiking or mountain biking, and afterwards you can kick back and relax by the pool. The hotel also sports a large “nature spa”, aiming to incorporate the serenity of the surroundings in all treatments, and one of the owners of the establishment has even launched her own range of cosmetics based on locally sourced herbs and on honey from the village.
The “One Man Sauna” in Germany
One of the world’s most spectacular sauna structures is located in Germany. Right in the middle of what the architects behind the project refers to as “an industrial wasteland”, a 24-foot-high, black sauna tower points to the sky.
The building is made from recycled materials, such as the large concrete frames that were once used in coal-mining. On the ground floor you find a plunge pool, on the second floor is the sauna and in the top floor there is a relaxation room where you can sit back and just watch the clouds drifting by.
This unique sauna is named the “One Man Sauna”, because it’s only big enough for one person at the time, and the relaxation area has only one day bed where you can watch the sky. The architects wanted to create a sauna and a sort of sanctuary for relaxation and contemplation, in the old industrial site, where not much else is happening anymore.
