The project aims to augment the embodied experience of the saunas and pools within by providing subtle transitions that gradually create a separation between the everyday lives of visitors and the spaces within. These transitions include spatial elements such as ramps, gradations in light, and soothing materials. The design offers a focus on sensual and experiential qualities that enables visitors to be more physically present and in touch with their own body.
The space provides private rooms where visitors can relax within their own small sauna, reset in cold plunge pools, and cleanse within the showers. Guests check in at an entry lobby, before proceeding to a ring of circulation that offers access to the private spaces beyond. As visitors move through the space, they experience a deliberate separation from the world outside.
The windows at the entry provide generous day light that fades away as guests move through the rounded corridor. Vertical slats of locally sourced cypress wrap the outer wall of the hall, providing a sense of warmth and comfort. The slats clad both the walls and the doors to the private sauna rooms, concealing the entries and highlighting the primacy of a singular visitor. The curve of the corridor conceals what lies around the corner, generating a sense of exploration. As guests move along the path, the wood floor ramps upward slightly. Guests experience a slight climb as they approach their space and then descend as they return to the exterior.
