Translucent lakeside sauna wins Toronto design competition
London-based architecture firm Fox Fernley Landscape Office have designed a three-person, translucent sauna as part of a winning design in the Winter Stations Design competition in Toronto.
The Winter Stations design competition had a theme of Freeze / Thaw this year, and asked designers and artists to respond to the changing conditions and transitions of the Toronto winter.
“Most of the artists took this to be something about the natural landscape freezing and thawing, but we suggested that the most interesting thing to see on the beach is people, so our competition entry was for a human freezing and thawing process: Sauna and plunge pool,” said James Fox, partner at FFLO.
The sauna is a simple timber construction with tiered seating for three, and the polycarbonate outer skin of the sauna gives winter walkers a steamy glimpse of the bathers within. At night, solar-powered lights illuminate the scene.
It is fuelled by a small wood-burning stove – with extra wood stored under a lifeguard’s station – and was constructed for £5,000 (US$7,064, €6,398).
The sauna will be on display and operational as part of Winter Stations through March, after which time it will be disassembled and sold on eBay.
“We would love to design some more saunas, and indeed we would prefer it if they were permanent because we like to see people enjoying the things and the places that we help make,” said Fox.
This is not the first lakeside sauna to garner attention in a design competition. Designers Kyle Bigart, Andrew Sommerville and Alex Paulette created an Urban Therme sauna as part of a kiosk competition for The Chicago Architecture Biennial back in September.
Fox Fernley Landscape Office Toronto lakeside sauna


Lakefront urban spa kiosks with Roman roots designed for Chicago architectural competition


James Corner Field Operations creates Highline for London

Esbjerg’s landmark maritime center, designed by WERK Arkitekter and Snøhetta, opens to the public

SEVEN to open world’s first indoor Discovery Adventures centres in Saudi Arabia

Fun and fear drive new Universal attraction concepts for Texas and Las Vegas

Voelker Gray Design creates 10-acre hot springs wellness haven for Atlanta

AIDarchitecten create healing spa for Antwerp's Botanic Sanctuary

Hollaway Studio's Seahive would bring blue health to South-East England

SEVEN to invest US$13bn in developing entertainment destinations across Saudi Arabia

World Spa’s expansive 50,000sq ft urban bathhouse and wellness club opens in Brooklyn

Floating Salmon Eye visitor attraction by Kvorning Design highlights sustainable aquaculture

White Arkitekter's Wood Hotel in Skellefteå Swedish Lapland is climate positive and made from local timber

Nohlab's 'Everything' installation among Noor Riyadh festival highlights

Bob Iger's return to Disney sparks major restructuring focused on creativity and storytelling

Therme Group plans US$200m urban wellbeing resort in South Korea

Digital art installation in Nanjing helps the public keep an eye on exoplanets

First glimpses revealed of flagship Blue Zones Centre in Miami

Warner Bros. and Infinite Reality launch metaverse experiences for live sports fans

Storyland Studios' Nigeria's film city project will break ground in Q1 2023

Canyon Ranch preps for major expansion with new destinations in Austin, Fort Worth and Houston

WilkinsonEyre-designed Battersea Power Station development opens as leisure district following £9bn redevelopment

Healthy cities conference to discuss diversity and inclusivity in urban planning and design

Foster and Partners reveal design for sustainable marine life centre on the Red Sea

Anaheim's US$4bn ocV!BE project approved by planners

Construction marches ahead for Saudi giga-projects Amaala and The Red Sea

HBG Design behind Michigan’s six-storey Aquadome inspired by the sun’s path across the sky

Seventh International Museum Construction Congress to be held in Norway this year

The 'world's most anticipated museum' to finally open this year

Nike's Serena Williams Building, designed by Skylab, follows the concept of flow

Saudi Arabia's Neom mega-development to include 100-mile long 'horizontal skyscraper city'
