Design of sauna
Jean-Pierre Tortille, architect In this spaciousIn a sauna with a panoramic window overlooking the Baltic Sea, it is pleasant to sit with friends, drink a bottle of beer, and then go out into the yard and dive into the water at full speed. We made a "sauna with a view" together with engineer Heikki Turtianen. Heikki has been designing saunas for many years and is considered a real ace in this business. Taking everything on yourself is presumptuous and stupid. Only a specialist can think through the technical details: steam and heat insulation systems, ventilation and air tightness of the room. As for the design, the sauna has a harsh Scandinavian character. "You can soften it" by "diluting" the rough wooden paneling with decorative elements. For example, we lined the walls of the bathhouse with pine slats with rounded edges.
Matali Crasset, designer Find in the hotel Hi inOnly experienced bath attendants can handle a nice hammam - it looks absolutely atypical. The decor is not lush, like in the East, but extremely modest, stingy with details. Zigzag loungers have nothing in common with the classic rounded shape of a "sup". The stone bowl (called "kurna" in Turkey) with two taps for separate supply of hot and cold water is indistinguishable from an ordinary sink in a hotel room. But all formal violations concern only the decor. The Turkish bath functions according to all the laws of the genre. The loungers and the floor are heated to a temperature of 40-60°C. Steam generators are hidden under the seats - they provide a "steam" mode. I don't know what the Turks will say about this, but I'll dare to give one piece of advice on decorating a hammam: use green generously. It makes the mind clear and the soul pure.
Guntram Jokis, architect Of all the baths II prefer a Finnish sauna. An electric heater is much easier to control than a Russian stove or steam generation in a Turkish hammam. In addition, dry air makes it easy to tolerate even the highest temperature in the steam room (up to 140°C). I designed this sauna for the Munich bath complex Michaelbad. Scandinavian spruce was used in its design. Due to its small knots, it is considered the cheapest material. We made benches from it and covered the walls with it. Pay attention to the lighting - lamps can be placed not only on the walls of the steam room, but also under the seats. In this case, the light is diffused and does not blind the eyes.
Nuria Olmedo Barroso, decorator This bathThe complex, which includes a hammam, massage room, aromatherapy room and three pools (with warm, cool and ice water), is located in the Spanish town of Jerez de la Frontera. Its area is 350 sq. m. Only natural materials were used in the decoration - marble and cedar wood. The walls are decorated with tadelakt and Andalusian plaster. The lighting in all the rooms is subdued, intimate: we used lanterns and candles. Speakers are installed on the walls of the hammam, broadcasting the sound of the surf and birdsong. The intoxicating aroma of eucalyptus fills the rooms. My favorite detail in this interior is the fountain with pink petals, standing at the entrance. Contemplation of it already from the threshold sets the visitors in the right mood.
Dasha Gorina, decorator Six years ago, whenWhen this house was built, hammams were just coming into fashion. Everyone had a vague idea of how to decorate them. Our Turkish baths mostly looked like plastic and tiled "boxes". The owner of this house forbade us to do any sloppy work and sent us to the birthplace of the hammam - Istanbul, from where we brought the finished project. In the basement of the house, we built a classic oriental octagon out of brick. Its roof is covered with mirror mosaic. The door is framed by a carved oak frame. As for the interior decoration, the insulated walls, floor and sun loungers are finished with marble. The mosaic ceiling has a traditional hammam dome shape, thanks to which condensation smoothly rolls down the walls and does not drip onto your shoulders and head. In the relaxation area next to the hammam we have placed velvet-covered sofas, where you are supposed to sit and drink tea and smoke hookah.
Antonio Citterio, designer Interior of the hammamshould be laconic and integral, in keeping with Eastern philosophy. In the Bvlgari Hotel in Milan, I tried to make it exactly like that - a secluded room with painted walls, a stone floor and minimal lighting. The space seems ascetic. You can't say that expensive materials were used in its design: the bench and floor are made of white Afyon marble, the ceiling is lined with emerald stone mosaic. Air circulation in the room is carried out by means of a forced exhaust (120 mm in diameter). Although, in principle, natural supply ventilation can also be used.
Oscar Tusquet Blanca, architect It's worth stepping overthe threshold of this sauna, as you get the feeling that you are on stage. It's all about the fluorescent lamps installed on the curved glossy ceiling. They "hit" your eyes like spotlights. Modest people who prefer to "stay in the shadows" have an alternative - floor lamps hidden under the seats. In principle, you can limit yourself to them - their power is quite enough to avoid bruises. When designing a sauna, it is important not to forget about ventilation. Ideally, the steam room should have two gaps that provide air circulation (exhaust in the ceiling and supply in the floor). The ceiling height in the sauna should not be more than 2.1 m. Otherwise, a "pipe effect" will appear, which will increase the draft, create a vacuum and cause a draft.
Ulf Knorr, architect Essential Componentshome sauna - a cabin with a vapor barrier system (mineral wool or fiberglass is usually used as insulation), a heater (the stones are heated by an electric coil) and sealed doors that provide thermal insulation (they should fit tightly to the door frame). All these elements are present in the sauna in a country house in the south of Sweden. Pay attention to the layout - the steam room was placed next to the bathroom. Initially, this room was supposed to be a bathroom. The curved seats were custom-made from birch. In principle, aspen, alder, linden, African abashi oak are suitable for a sauna. These types of wood, like birch, do not conduct heat well, which means they will not burn your skin. As an alternative, you can use pressed masonite shavings - an environmentally friendly and inexpensive material.
Peter Jaitler, designer The hallmark of thissaunas in the Vienna hotel Le Meridian - unusual lighting. Heat-protected halogen lamps, hung around the perimeter of the room behind the suspended ceiling, "paint" all surfaces alternately in pink, yellow and blue. The brightness and duration of the glow are regulated by the remote control. Lately, much has been said about the so-called infrared saunas. An excellent invention, I tell you. Heaters emitting infrared light are installed on the walls of such cabins. It has a healing effect on the body. The air temperature in "room" is room temperature, so the sessions are suitable even for heart patients.
Ert Wingard, architect The owners of this house in the southSweden is obsessed with Japan. They wanted to equip the sauna exactly as it is customary in the Land of the Rising Sun. The Japanese always take a bath or shower before and after the bath, and sometimes in between the hikes to the steam room. This is an important part of the ritual for them. Therefore, the sauna had to put a single unit with a bathroom, shower and bathroom. Zones are separated by partitions lined with limestone. (Initially, we wanted to make them concrete, but customers found this material too cold.) Another thing: the Japanese believe that sunlight allows you to clean not only bodily, but also spiritually, so the bath must have a window (we cut it in the outer wall of the steam room).
