Denizen Sauna

Located on a summer holiday island in the archipelago between Finland and Sweden, this self-build sauna was designed entirely in a small Moleskin notebook and built in nine days.

The client had tried unsuccessfully for 12 years to obtain planning permission for a sauna within her disused boat shed. Denizen was commissioned to find a solution that would circumnavigate the planning issues. Upon finding out that the planners allow the creation of mobile structures, and inspired by stories from the family’s past, they proposed building the sauna in the form of a large-scale sledge that could be hauled onto the frozen waters surrounding the house during the winter months.

The sauna was constructed from locally sourced timber and recycled windows, and was lined in pine cladding that the client had stored in her shed 12 years ago, when she submitted her initial planning application. It sits on a raised foundation so that it can be towed onto the ice by a tractor or horses.