Photography by Kevin Scott, courtesy of goCstudio.
Is there a more perfect escape-in-place for Seattle—a chilly, Nordic-influenced city surrounded by water—than a floating sauna?
Built largely by the studio and a team of volunteers, the sauna is moored on the north end of Lake Union and can take six visitors on 2-3 hour tours around that lake and nearby Lake Washington, on the city’s eastern side.
The 240-square-foot floating sauna is made of preservative-treated plywood with a semi-transparent ebony stain. The surrounding deck is marine-grade plywood with a clear varnish.
Inside, the sauna is heated by a wood-burning stove. A large plywood window serves as a “cool-down hatch” when visitors get too warm.
The sauna floats on 28 55-gallon plastic drums held inside a pre-fab aluminum floating deck frame from Rolling Barge.
Inside, goCstudio installed a prefab sauna kit from Finnleo. All the sauna’s wood surfaces are spruce, with tongue and groove walls and ceiling.
The roof is made from a waterproof membrane by Sarnafil, which the architects use in many of their residential projects.
The sauna floating on the north end of Lake Union, off of the city’s Gas Works Park.
The sauna boat sails under an electronic trolling motor whose batteries are installed under the deck so it moves silently through the water.