There’s More Than One Way to Warm Up at This Sauna in Sweden

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Project Details:

Location: Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden

Footprint: 162 square feet

Architect: Anders Berensson Architects / @anders_berensson_architects

From the Architect: "A House around a Chimney is a sauna constructed around a central brick chimney that is both structural and functional. The house is located down by the water as an additional building on a large plot with an older manor house. The function of the house is to provide a place close to the water where people can socialize, swim, use the sauna, and sit under cover in front of an open fireplace in the evenings.

"The house takes its formal language with a symmetrical roof from the main building. A chimney is placed in the middle of the roof, serving both as a structural pillar, a spatial divider, and a fireplace. The solid brick chimney works as a central pillar but bends in and out to accommodate the functions of the different rooms. Inside the sauna, a cut-out is made for the sauna unit. In the small rest area, the fireplace has a convex-shaped subtraction to fit a wood stove insert. In the outdoor area, the fireplace has a similarly shaped concave addition to accommodate a larger fireplace.

"Both indoor and outdoor floors are made of the same limestone tiles. Indoor walls, ceilings, and fixed furniture are made from heat-treated aspen wood. The client wished for the house to be almost invisible from the main building, so it is painted dark brown and has a grass-covered roof, allowing it to almost disappear into the surrounding vegetation when seen from the main house."