The client for our mobile sauna bought the wood to build it 12 years before she finally received planning. Although the sauna has an important social function in Scandinavian homes, a permanent structure at her summer house on the Finnish archipelago of Åland was not possible. We solved the problem by making it movable, putting the simple shed onto sledge runners so it can be pulled out onto the ice for a refreshing plunge in the winter months. And then, while the days were long, we spent a summer building it.

“Kerr soon discovered the planners were fine with mobile structures, so he proposed a large-scale sledge that could be hauled onto the frozen waters that surround his client’s house during the winter months. The planners said ‘fine’, so Kerr and a few pals set about building it with local timber, completing it in nine days. What’s more it proved light enough for a horse to tow around. Job done.”

IMAGE CAPTIONS

Waterside night/day
The structure takes up position in the grounds of the summer house.

Logs
Parked close to the water’s edge for a refreshing dip.

4 Detail
Views across the water.

6 Detail
Service door and glass door.

7 Overview/overview night
The sled can be dragged to any position on the site – including onto the frozen lake in winter – and reanchored.

8 Internal
The inside of the sauna cabin is lined with the wood originally bought – 12 years earlier – by the client to build the structure.

9 Night
The sauna is clad in local wood and tar paper.

10 Elevation
A simple elevation built from a hand-drawn design.

EPHEMERA

Images from the site build

Murray’s packing list

Euro and US dollar bills from plan purchasers

Sketchbook scans