Californian architect Nick Polansky used a red wooden floor to dress a barge and covered 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 interaction, both between users and the environment, as well as between the structure and the waterfront infrastructure, according to Fjord founders Alex Yenni and Gabe Turner. The two, who come from the field of technology and marketing, hired architect Polansky to realize the concept, which was recently installed in a marina in Sausalito, a small town across the Golden Gate Strait from San Francisco. “Fjord is a love letter to the Gulf and its possibilities,” Polansky said. “We wanted every detail to honor the environment and inspire new ways to connect with water.”
A decommissioned barge enhanced
The nave, with an area of 62 square meters, has a relatively simple shape. Polansky took a disused pier barge and anchored it at the edge of the dock, where visitors enter through a ramp at the pier. A red wooden platform was used to cover the barge, and two separate reused shipping containers were fixed to the structure on opposite sides. Between the two Finnish-style saunas stretches a walkway, where visitors can detach in both directions to access the saunas. Red wooden beams and slats were used to create semi-covered outdoor areas around the sauna for preparation, use of showers and relaxation.
Each of the saunas has a glass façade facing the bay, contributing to the goal of connecting visitors with the elements of nature. The interiors of the saunas were clad with Thermory Aspen wood. The heating elements, which use electricity to heat rocks that can be sprayed with water for steam, were purchased from Homecraft Saunas in British Columbia. Two ventilation ducts help filter the air inside and out. Ladders on two sides have been included to allow visitors to dive into the water in a demarcated area.
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A project that is not easy to put into practice
“Sausalito has a unique spirit — creative, independent, deeply connected to the water,” Yenni said. “We want Fjord to feel like it belongs here, to become a place that locals are proud of and that visitors are looking for.” The team noted the intense process of granting ownership required to install the floating sauna. More than seven different local and federal agencies were consulted on the project, which was ultimately decided by the Gulf Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC).
The project had to have both a minimal impact on the environment and bring demonstrable benefits to the public. “Our position was that in order for people to want to protect the Gulf, they must first connect with it on a physical and emotional level. They need it to play an active role in their lives. They have to cherish it,” said Yenni, who also said that young people visit the area less and less frequently.
“While I’m sure we weren’t the first to think about doing something like this on the water, I think we were the most committed to the rights process, the health of the Gulf environment, and providing a measurable social good to the public.” Other floating saunas around the world include one with grandstands above in Oslo by Estudio Herreros, and a miniature sauna on Lake Geneva by Trolle Rudebeck Haar.
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