MFA Friday Clip: Finnish Architecture. Review 2018 - Saunas

The smoke sauna located in Asikkala, southern Finland, is designed by TUOMO SIITONEN ARCHITECTS. It has all the fundamental components of the traditional sauna experience:
The archetypal history of the smoke sauna, its lengthy heating time and the connoisseurship required to burn the wood and to remove the smoke and soot before bathing give the smoke sauna very special status in Finnish sauna culture. With smoke saunas, the keywords are slow, dark and quiet.

Again, The public sauna in Lonna Island, by OOPEAA Office for Peripheral Architecture, is an attempt to reawaken the old Finnish tradition of bathing in a shared space. In recent years, several new urban public saunas have risen in Helsinki and elsewhere in Finland after decades of favouring private saunas. An urban public sauna offers a social experience consisting of a very personal bathing ritual along with a strong link with the city, while still remaining withdrawn from the actual buzz of the city.

About the review:

Finland’s biennial architectural review presents a selection of recent projects showcasing new trends and high standards of excellence in Finnish architecture. The review is organized by the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA and the Alvar Aalto Foundation.

This year’s jury was chaired by the Portuguese architect Gonçalo Byrne, a recent member of the jury that selected the winner of the Mies van der Rohe Award. The two other members of the Biennial Review jury are Maire Mattinen, architect and Anni Vartola, architect and critic.

The 16 shortlisted projects offer an example of recent accomplishments in high-level contemporary planning, renovation, and sustainable, responsible design.