27 Aug 2019
Burning Man 2019 features Finnish Sauna in the desert
BY Jane Kitchen
Revellers at Burning Man this week can get an extra dose of heat in the Nevada Desert as Helsinki-based JKMM architects bring the Steam of Life Pavilion to the festival.
The circle-shaped Steam of Life Pavilion, co-designed by Sauna on Fire collective, has been built to offer the sequenced sauna experience, as a deconstructed art installation.
The timber pavilion is described as “a place for tranquility and contemplation. It’s a process of rejuvenation by the elements of Nordic nature and wisdom, taking one from birth to death and after. It offers a calm heaven to be in peace, or in heat.”
“Steam of Life” embodies the typical physical elements of a Finnish sauna. It is a human scale wooden building, minimalistic in its aesthetic and focused on embracing ambient natural light and shade.
A passageway will guide visitors to circulate through the round shaped sauna pavilion. Stepping in from the harsh desert light, visitors enter a low-lit passage that leads to the steam room, the heart of a Finnish Sauna, with wooden benches and the “kiuas” stove.
After enjoying a sauna, visitors will enter a softly-lit space opening onto the atrium yard in the middle of the pavilion. In the absence of a lake, sea or a pile of snow to dip into, the atrium yard offers a shaded oasis for cooling down and meditative relaxing.
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