From rusty steel walls to curved grotto-like interiors, and from floating saunas to the world’s largest. We round up some great-looking projects in the booming world of sauna bathing
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2016 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Who will own the well-life consumer?
It’s the wild west out there and there’s a land grab going on as interested parties make their play to own the well-life consumer. It’s not clear yet how this will pan out as the industry matures, or where spa stands in the pecking order, but the threats are clear
Spa people: Tyler Gage
Runa’s Tyler Gage working with Channing Tatum on an Amazon healing centre
Spa people: Todd Hewitt
For the first time in four years, Shangri-La appoints a global head of spas. Spa Business talks to Todd Hewitt, the man to fill the role
Spa people: James White
Thermal spa researcher and consultant to head up major overhaul of Maruia Hot Springs in New Zealand
Interview: Irene Forte
Daughter of hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and niece of designer Olga Polizzi tells Jane Kitchen why the Rocco Forte Hotel’s new spa concept is a family affair
Design: Natural wonderland
Neena Dhillon visits the striking new Keemala resort and spa in Phuket and finds out about its unique design
Science: Skin deep
Modern research is redefining the way we think about skin. Neuroscientist Dr Claudia Aguirre explains what the findings mean for spas
Promotional feature: Clarins
Clarins’ head of Spas, My Blend and Retail, Prisca Courtin-Clarins, talks about the strides the company is making in highly prescriptive skincare, and the development of hotel spa concepts with the My Blend brand
Promotional feature: Massage Heights
There’s a clear gap in the UK spa market for an affordable local offering that places an emphasis on top-quality treatments and services. Is Massage Heights, the successful US franchise chain, the solution?
Promotional feature: Neaumorinc
From a director of spa at Four Seasons to an entrepreneur who introduces exciting new beauty brands to five-star facilities, Shawna Morneau’s experience on both sides of the industry is enabling her consultancy to have an impact worldwide
Promotional feature: Dr Burgener Switzerland
Dr Burgener Switzerland to launch Haute Couture, a revolutionary skin treatment that personalises product and treatments to each person’s skin, using cutting-edge technology
Sensory zone: Set adrift
Niamh Madigan talks to researcher Justin Feinstein who thinks floatation could be a shortcut to meditation
Fitness: Defying gravity
The founder of AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga tells Niamh Madigan about the technique and a new suspension massage he’s developing for spas
Promotional feature: Gharieni
As Gharieni prepares to celebrate 25 years in the industry, founder and CEO Sammy Gharieni talks about the company’s culture of innovation, and how there will so many more exciting products to come
THINKING BIG Agora Sauna - Sandhornoya, Norway Design: Rintala Eggertsson Architects & Joar Nango A sauna – billed as the world’s largest at 180sq m (1,938sq ft) – opened in mid 2015 on a remote Norwegian beach on an island in the Arctic Circle as part of a cultural programme of art and music.
Jointly built by Norway-based Rintala Eggertsson Architects and artist and designer Joar Nango, the glass-fronted Agora Sauna holds more than 100 people and looks out onto the Arctic Sea, offering views of the mountainous seascape. It also features its own bar.
Norwegian musician and recording artist Biosphere has created a specially commissioned ambient soundtrack, called Polar Low, which plays in the sauna. Located in Sandhornoya, the Agora Sauna is part of a unique, moveable cultural initiative called SALT, which aims to bring together art, architecture, music and food in the Arctic landscape. Its amphitheatre-style seating means the space can also be used for a programme of events, including talks and performances.
Designed as a temporary installation, the sauna and SALT project are likely to remain in Sandhornoyha until September. After that, the idea is to tour northern locations like Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Alaska.
Located in the Arctic Circle, the Agora Sauna is part of a moveable cultural initiative called SALT
The amphitheatre-style seating in the sauna can also be used for a varied programme of events
The sauna’s design was inspired by traditional Norwegian fish racks
The sauna’s design was inspired by traditional Norwegian fish racks
INSPIRED BY NATURE Grotto Sauna - Ontario, Canada Design: Partisan Designed by Toronto-based practice Partisans, the battered-looking charred timber exterior of the Grotto Sauna in Ontario hides a curved, sensual, warm interior.
The sauna is perched on a private island in Georgian Bay, Ontario. The design was inspired by the rugged northern Canadian landscape, and by natural waterside grottos – with curved chambers worn smooth by water currents.
The exterior is built from charred cedar chosen for its weathered appearance and prepared using the traditional Japanese Shou Sugi Ban method (an ancient art of burning timber to preserve and antique it). Inside, large curved windows flood the space with natural light and provide views across the bay.
The sauna was designed using 3D modelling and was constructed off-site before being transported to its home by boat.
The architects of the project says: “The Grotto Sauna is a feat of old-world craftsmanship and new-world sustainability made possible by cutting-edge software and fabrication technology. It is a sculpted space, a sensual experience and a sophisticated exercise in building science.”
The curved interior was inspired by natural grotto walls, which are worn smooth by the water
Located on a private island in Ontario, Grotto Sauna juts into a lake and provides views over Georgian Bay
Charred cedar was chosen for its natural, weathered appearance and was prepared and antiqued using ancient Japanese methods
Charred cedar was chosen for its natural, weathered appearance and was prepared and antiqued using ancient Japanese methods
BANDING TOGETHER The Bands - Lofoten Norway Design: Oslo School of Architecture and Design students Students at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) have designed and built a quayside sauna and terrace from three connected wooden ‘bands’ that step down to the water in the fishing village of Lofoten in Norway.
The Bands is a project by students at the Scarcity and Creativity Studio, a graduate design and build studio with the AHO. The larch-lined structure was inspired by three historic buildings on the site: a fisherman’s cottage, a cod liver oil production building and a cod salting building, which all date back to the early 1900s. The AHO graduates were tasked with designing the sauna and exterior facilities as part of a wider project which also involves the renovation of the three historic buildings.
The larch clad structure – which has been designed to look like three separate buildings, but is actually interconnected inside – houses a sauna, wooden benches and a wood burning stove. The outside terrace features benches and a table, as well as a barbecue and hot tub/plunge pool.
The structure is designed to look like three separate buildings, but the interior is actually one space
The project is the work of students at the Scarcity and Creativity Studio, part of the Oslo School of Architecture and Design
A wood burning stove provides heat for the building. The design is clean and simple, with larch used throughout
The folds echo the rugged landscape and reference the historic buildings on the site
The folds echo the rugged landscape and reference the historic buildings on the site
SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED Spruce Sauna - New England, USA Design: Matter Design Boston-based firm Matter Design has designed an unusual maze-like sauna structure,with several rooms nesting vertically inside the narrow building, for a private farm in New England.
Spruce Sauna features a dressing room, shower, plunge pool and steamroom. The building features a curved ceiling, which, according to the designers: “Holds the steam at a specific elevation that one can slip above and below as moving through the programs.”
The dressing room, steamroom, plunge pool and shower are nested vertically in this New England sauna
The dressing room, steamroom, plunge pool and shower are nested vertically in this New England sauna
ON THE WATER Floating Sauna - Seattle, USA Design: goCstudio Seattle-based architects goCstudio have built and launched a floating sauna in Seattle, providing locals with a new perspective of their waterfront city.
The designers wanted to create a tranquil refuge which could tour Seattle’s many lakes. Designs were drawn up in January 2014 and a successful Kickstarter campaign raised over US$40,000 to keep the project afloat. Construction was completed in late 2015, and the vessel – named the wa_sauna – has now been tested and registered to sail.
The sauna is transported from lake to lake by its operators and is propelled through the water by an electric trolling motor. Heat is provided by a wood burning stove.
The sauna will tour Seattle’s many lakes by an electric trolling motor
The sauna will tour Seattle’s many lakes by an electric trolling motor
ROUGH & READY Bathing Culture - Gothenburg, Sweden Design: Raumlabor When the City of Gothenburg wanted to revitalise its battered harbour front, as part of a wider scheme to regenerate the Jubilee Park and Frihamnen areas, the architects in charge – Raumlabor – turned to the Sweden’s rich sauna bathing tradition for inspiration.
They planned to create a project called Bathing Culture, with a first phase being the building of a beach and the Sauna in Frihamnen.
The 20-seater sauna building, constructed by volunteers out of local recycled materials, has bank-side changing rooms, riverside walkways and landscaping. Phase two will see the creation of a public bath next to or in the river, as well as outdoor water play, cultural buildings, a roller derby track and an urban garden space.
The sauna won the architects of Sweden Västra Götalands architecture prize in 2015.
Visitors access the sauna via a wooden bridge. It is part of a wider project aiming to revitalise the harbour
The sauna was made with entirely recycled materials, with a wooden interior and corrugated iron cladding
Visitors access the sauna via a wooden bridge. It is part of a wider project aiming to revitalise the harbour
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
From rusty steel walls to curved grotto-like interiors, and from floating saunas to the world’s largest. We round up some great-looking projects in the booming world of sauna bathing
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2016 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Who will own the well-life consumer?
It’s the wild west out there and there’s a land grab going on as interested parties make their play to own the well-life consumer. It’s not clear yet how this will pan out as the industry matures, or where spa stands in the pecking order, but the threats are clear
Spa people: Tyler Gage
Runa’s Tyler Gage working with Channing Tatum on an Amazon healing centre
Spa people: Todd Hewitt
For the first time in four years, Shangri-La appoints a global head of spas. Spa Business talks to Todd Hewitt, the man to fill the role
Spa people: James White
Thermal spa researcher and consultant to head up major overhaul of Maruia Hot Springs in New Zealand
Interview: Irene Forte
Daughter of hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and niece of designer Olga Polizzi tells Jane Kitchen why the Rocco Forte Hotel’s new spa concept is a family affair
Design: Natural wonderland
Neena Dhillon visits the striking new Keemala resort and spa in Phuket and finds out about its unique design
Science: Skin deep
Modern research is redefining the way we think about skin. Neuroscientist Dr Claudia Aguirre explains what the findings mean for spas
Promotional feature: Clarins
Clarins’ head of Spas, My Blend and Retail, Prisca Courtin-Clarins, talks about the strides the company is making in highly prescriptive skincare, and the development of hotel spa concepts with the My Blend brand
Promotional feature: Massage Heights
There’s a clear gap in the UK spa market for an affordable local offering that places an emphasis on top-quality treatments and services. Is Massage Heights, the successful US franchise chain, the solution?
Promotional feature: Neaumorinc
From a director of spa at Four Seasons to an entrepreneur who introduces exciting new beauty brands to five-star facilities, Shawna Morneau’s experience on both sides of the industry is enabling her consultancy to have an impact worldwide
Promotional feature: Dr Burgener Switzerland
Dr Burgener Switzerland to launch Haute Couture, a revolutionary skin treatment that personalises product and treatments to each person’s skin, using cutting-edge technology
Sensory zone: Set adrift
Niamh Madigan talks to researcher Justin Feinstein who thinks floatation could be a shortcut to meditation
Fitness: Defying gravity
The founder of AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga tells Niamh Madigan about the technique and a new suspension massage he’s developing for spas
Promotional feature: Gharieni
As Gharieni prepares to celebrate 25 years in the industry, founder and CEO Sammy Gharieni talks about the company’s culture of innovation, and how there will so many more exciting products to come
THINKING BIG Agora Sauna - Sandhornoya, Norway Design: Rintala Eggertsson Architects & Joar Nango A sauna – billed as the world’s largest at 180sq m (1,938sq ft) – opened in mid 2015 on a remote Norwegian beach on an island in the Arctic Circle as part of a cultural programme of art and music.
Jointly built by Norway-based Rintala Eggertsson Architects and artist and designer Joar Nango, the glass-fronted Agora Sauna holds more than 100 people and looks out onto the Arctic Sea, offering views of the mountainous seascape. It also features its own bar.
Norwegian musician and recording artist Biosphere has created a specially commissioned ambient soundtrack, called Polar Low, which plays in the sauna. Located in Sandhornoya, the Agora Sauna is part of a unique, moveable cultural initiative called SALT, which aims to bring together art, architecture, music and food in the Arctic landscape. Its amphitheatre-style seating means the space can also be used for a programme of events, including talks and performances.
Designed as a temporary installation, the sauna and SALT project are likely to remain in Sandhornoyha until September. After that, the idea is to tour northern locations like Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Alaska.
Located in the Arctic Circle, the Agora Sauna is part of a moveable cultural initiative called SALT
The amphitheatre-style seating in the sauna can also be used for a varied programme of events
The sauna’s design was inspired by traditional Norwegian fish racks
The sauna’s design was inspired by traditional Norwegian fish racks
INSPIRED BY NATURE Grotto Sauna - Ontario, Canada Design: Partisan Designed by Toronto-based practice Partisans, the battered-looking charred timber exterior of the Grotto Sauna in Ontario hides a curved, sensual, warm interior.
The sauna is perched on a private island in Georgian Bay, Ontario. The design was inspired by the rugged northern Canadian landscape, and by natural waterside grottos – with curved chambers worn smooth by water currents.
The exterior is built from charred cedar chosen for its weathered appearance and prepared using the traditional Japanese Shou Sugi Ban method (an ancient art of burning timber to preserve and antique it). Inside, large curved windows flood the space with natural light and provide views across the bay.
The sauna was designed using 3D modelling and was constructed off-site before being transported to its home by boat.
The architects of the project says: “The Grotto Sauna is a feat of old-world craftsmanship and new-world sustainability made possible by cutting-edge software and fabrication technology. It is a sculpted space, a sensual experience and a sophisticated exercise in building science.”
The curved interior was inspired by natural grotto walls, which are worn smooth by the water
Located on a private island in Ontario, Grotto Sauna juts into a lake and provides views over Georgian Bay
Charred cedar was chosen for its natural, weathered appearance and was prepared and antiqued using ancient Japanese methods
Charred cedar was chosen for its natural, weathered appearance and was prepared and antiqued using ancient Japanese methods
BANDING TOGETHER The Bands - Lofoten Norway Design: Oslo School of Architecture and Design students Students at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) have designed and built a quayside sauna and terrace from three connected wooden ‘bands’ that step down to the water in the fishing village of Lofoten in Norway.
The Bands is a project by students at the Scarcity and Creativity Studio, a graduate design and build studio with the AHO. The larch-lined structure was inspired by three historic buildings on the site: a fisherman’s cottage, a cod liver oil production building and a cod salting building, which all date back to the early 1900s. The AHO graduates were tasked with designing the sauna and exterior facilities as part of a wider project which also involves the renovation of the three historic buildings.
The larch clad structure – which has been designed to look like three separate buildings, but is actually interconnected inside – houses a sauna, wooden benches and a wood burning stove. The outside terrace features benches and a table, as well as a barbecue and hot tub/plunge pool.
The structure is designed to look like three separate buildings, but the interior is actually one space
The project is the work of students at the Scarcity and Creativity Studio, part of the Oslo School of Architecture and Design
A wood burning stove provides heat for the building. The design is clean and simple, with larch used throughout
The folds echo the rugged landscape and reference the historic buildings on the site
The folds echo the rugged landscape and reference the historic buildings on the site
SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED Spruce Sauna - New England, USA Design: Matter Design Boston-based firm Matter Design has designed an unusual maze-like sauna structure,with several rooms nesting vertically inside the narrow building, for a private farm in New England.
Spruce Sauna features a dressing room, shower, plunge pool and steamroom. The building features a curved ceiling, which, according to the designers: “Holds the steam at a specific elevation that one can slip above and below as moving through the programs.”
The dressing room, steamroom, plunge pool and shower are nested vertically in this New England sauna
The dressing room, steamroom, plunge pool and shower are nested vertically in this New England sauna
ON THE WATER Floating Sauna - Seattle, USA Design: goCstudio Seattle-based architects goCstudio have built and launched a floating sauna in Seattle, providing locals with a new perspective of their waterfront city.
The designers wanted to create a tranquil refuge which could tour Seattle’s many lakes. Designs were drawn up in January 2014 and a successful Kickstarter campaign raised over US$40,000 to keep the project afloat. Construction was completed in late 2015, and the vessel – named the wa_sauna – has now been tested and registered to sail.
The sauna is transported from lake to lake by its operators and is propelled through the water by an electric trolling motor. Heat is provided by a wood burning stove.
The sauna will tour Seattle’s many lakes by an electric trolling motor
The sauna will tour Seattle’s many lakes by an electric trolling motor
ROUGH & READY Bathing Culture - Gothenburg, Sweden Design: Raumlabor When the City of Gothenburg wanted to revitalise its battered harbour front, as part of a wider scheme to regenerate the Jubilee Park and Frihamnen areas, the architects in charge – Raumlabor – turned to the Sweden’s rich sauna bathing tradition for inspiration.
They planned to create a project called Bathing Culture, with a first phase being the building of a beach and the Sauna in Frihamnen.
The 20-seater sauna building, constructed by volunteers out of local recycled materials, has bank-side changing rooms, riverside walkways and landscaping. Phase two will see the creation of a public bath next to or in the river, as well as outdoor water play, cultural buildings, a roller derby track and an urban garden space.
The sauna won the architects of Sweden Västra Götalands architecture prize in 2015.
Visitors access the sauna via a wooden bridge. It is part of a wider project aiming to revitalise the harbour
The sauna was made with entirely recycled materials, with a wooden interior and corrugated iron cladding
Visitors access the sauna via a wooden bridge. It is part of a wider project aiming to revitalise the harbour
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
