28-09-2017

VALA Sauna a Soomas in Estonia

b210 Architects, Sami Rintala,

Wood,

Workshop,

VALA Sauna is the output of the 2017 Design and Making Summer School FLOODED 2017, organised jointly by the Department of Interior Architecture of the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Estonian Forest Management Centre.



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VALA Sauna a Soomas in Estonia VALA Sauna is the output of the 2017 Design and Making Summer School FLOODED 2017, organised jointly by the Department of Interior Architecture of the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Estonian Forest Management Centre.


For the third year in a row, the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Estonian Forest Management Centre jointly organised the Design and Making Summer School FLOODED. Over the 10-day period, a group of architecture and design students from 13 countries developed and crafted a new floating architecture in Soomaa, responding to the natural environment characterised by frequent flooding.
So the theme of water continues to be the focus of the department of interior architecture which, through these initiatives, is making a name for itself also outside the borders of the Baltic country. 
This year - after the megaphones in the forest (link) in 2015 and VEETEE, the floating picnic platform in 2016 (link) - the organisers decided to build a sauna, a rather complex type of architecture because it encompasses architecture, interior design, structural engineering, and various climatic and cultural aspects and of course it is the perfect opportunity to introduce the participants to this cornerstone of the Nordic culture, an important ritual in their routines and closely connected to the life elements of water and fire.
With the supervision and help of the tutors - b210 Architects and the Finnish architect, Sami Rintala plus Hannes Praks and architect Justin Tucker - the Summer School participants self-built a floating sauna made from local wood and recovered materials where people can enjoy this ritual right on the water. The sauna is open to the general public and is managed by the Estonian Forest Management Centre. 
If you're visiting Estonia for the 2017 Tallinn Architecture Biennale, the umpteenth floating architecture in Soomaa is a great excuse for exploring the rural Estonia.

Christiane Bürklein

Design and Making Summer School FLOODED 2017
Tutors: Estonian architecture office b210 Architects, Finnish architect Sami Rintala, the head of the interior architecture department at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Hannes Praks and architect Justin Tucker
Summer School participants: Emma Boudreau (USA), Fernanda Cabezas (Chile), Marie-Elise Chhabra (Estonia), Fergal Clenaghan (UK), Rasmus Exo (Germany), Sigrun Perla Gisladottir (Iceland), Eetu Hyvönen (Finland), Zane Kalnina (Latvia), Alexander Kamelhair (USA), Laura Lammert (Finland), Johanne Kirketerp Nielsen (Denmark), Sonia Sobrino Ralston (Canada), Lukas Scheidegger (Switzerland), Liina Soosaar (Estonia), Gudmar Söderin (Sweden), Asia Valencic (Italy), Wenzel Witt-Dörring (Austria)
Support: Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonian Forest Management Centre, European Regional Development Fund, Eesti Turbatooted, Liviko, DAG Reklaam
Images: Courtesy of artun.ee
www.artun.ee 
www.ekasisearhitektuur.ee
www.instagram.com/ekasisearhitektuur/

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