Kyly: The Redefined Sauna

Recent history suggests that Finland is an emerging design Mecca. It is also a country that prides itself in its sauna culture, a necessity in the Scandinavian north. Hailing from Helsinki, the 2009 prizewinner of the Habitare competition for young and upcoming designers and architects is the firm Avanto Architects with its submission of the aptly named ‘Kyly’ Sauna.

Meaning sauna or bathing in old Karelian, Kyly is a simple yet sophisticated structure. Built purely out of square wooden logs, it is a modern take on the traditional wooden Scandinavian sauna. The logs are simply placed on top of each other in an area that spans 5 by 6 meters, creating an intimate arrangement of space.

Once put together, the composition consists of an insulated dressing room a few steps in, at arm’s length away a showering area, and then another few steps up to the core of the Kyly, the sauna itself. Included in the cube is a Japanese style furo bath and a section for a fire.

The coup de grace of Kyly’s design is that it can be easily dismantled and put back together. It allows for one to detach oneself from society once the wooden walls have been erected, take off all clothing, and within its confines submerge completely into the sauna’s powers, re-emerging refreshed and revitalized.

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by Henry Guyer
Gloobbi Design

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