California architect Nick Polansky used redwood decking to clad a barge and topped it with recycled shipping containers to create the Fjord floating sauna in San Francisco Bay, USA.
Fjord is a simple sauna oriented around the principles of reuse and engagement, both between users and the environment and between the structure and the waterfront infrastructure, according to Fjord founders Alex Yenni and Gabe Turner.
The pair, who come from tech and marketing, brought on architect Polansky to realise the concept, which was recently installed at a marina in Sausalito, a small city across the Golden Gate Strait from San Francisco.
“Fjord is a love letter to the Bay and its possibilities,” said Polansky. “We wanted every detail to honor the environment and inspire new ways of connecting with the water.”
The 675-square-foot vessel is relatively simple in form. Polansky took a disused breakwater barge and anchored it to the edge of the dock, where visitors enter via a ramp from the landing.
Redwood decking was used to cover the barge, and two separate reused shipping containers were fastened to the structure on opposite sides.
Between the two Finnish-style saunas runs a walkway, where visitors can peel off in either direction to access the saunas. Redwood beams and slats were used to create semi-covered outdoor areas around the sauna for preparation, use of showers, and lounging.
Each of the saunas is fronted with glass that faces out into the bay, furthering the goal of connecting visitors with the elements. The interiors of the saunas were decked out in Thermory Aspen wood cladding.
The heating elements, which use electricity to heat rocks that can be doused in water for steam, were acquired from Homecraft Saunas in British Columbia. Two ventilation ducts help filter air in and out.
Ladders were included on two sides to enable visitors to “plunge” into the water within a cordoned-off area.
“Sausalito has a spirit unlike anywhere else – creative, independent, deeply tied to the water,” said Yenni.
“We want Fjord to feel like it belongs here, to become a place locals are proud of and visitors seek out.”
The team noted the intense entitlement process required for the installation of the floating sauna.
More than seven different local and federal agencies were consulted on the development, which was ultimately decided on by the Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC).
The project needed to have both a minimal environmental impact and demonstrably benefit the public.
“Our position was that for people to want to protect the Bay, they first need to connect with it on a physical and emotional level. They need it to play an active role in their lives. They need to value it,” said Yenni, who also said that young people are visiting the area less and less.
“While I’m sure we weren’t the first ones to think of doing something like this on the water, I think we were the most committed to the entitlement process, to the environmental health of the bay, and to delivering measurable social good to the public.”
Other floating saunas around the world include one with bleachers on top in Oslo by Estudio Herreros and a miniature sauna on Lake Geneva by Trolle Rudebeck Haar.
The photography is by Alex Farnum.
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