Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany
2017
@studiokubik
The building site is located at the Tollense See. It is part of a broader development project consisting of a center for meditation, a hotel, several holiday cottages and a park café. This project seeks to revitalize a whole economically underdeveloped area, by transforming a vast and mostly unused landscaped park into a sustainable getaway destination entirely dedicated to eco-tourism and meditation.
Built on the foundation of a former boathouse, a wooden sauna and look-out tower are set amidst reed on a beautiful lake in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania / Germany. Though standing on private land, the sauna is planned for public use. It’s meant to serve people living in the nearby villages, as well as guests staying in the adjacent hotel and last but not least day it is supposed to attract day trippers exploring the area hiking or on a bicycle tour.
In order to protect the sensitive natural habitat along the lakes shore’s, the small structure sits at the end of a wooden jetty, jutting out into the lake. Reminiscing the public baths “Weiße Badeanstalt” that once stood at this exact spot, the sauna is planned as a timber-frame construction. An architecture style once very typical for this part of Germany. Apart from the large panorama window facing the open lake, the structure is entirely clad in slender wooden slats in order to blend in with the natural environment.
The physical dimension of the square space is 180m2. Besides the sauna itself, it features secondary service spaces like changing- and relaxation rooms. During the warm summer months, the sauna’s roof can be used as a sun deck while the look-out tower doubles as a diving platform. In winter guests can warm up after a long day out in nature, enjoying the view over the frozen lake through the sauna’s panorama window.
