PROJECT FEATURE ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN FEATURES

From Land to Lake – Floating Sauna by Licht Architecture

Words by Lucinda Mckimm

Architecture by Licht Architecture

Photography by Anjie Blair

Build by Nigel Reeves

Along the winding country road that leads from Launceston to the north-east of Tasmania lies the quiet, historic town of Derby. Once a booming mining settlement, today, Derby is home to world class mountain biking trails, and now a floating sauna, designed by Licht Architecture.

Emerging from the banks of Lake Derby, Floating Sauna is a composition of two shed-like pavilions floating on a pontoon, connected to the shore by a small pedestrian bridge that acts as a threshold between land and lake. The timber batten fence provides a physical barrier from the outside world. Shoes are left at the shore before crossing a bridge where bikes are stored. Once within the perimeter, the user feels like they have entered their own space, separated from visible public tracks.

Floating Sauna is a composition of two shed-like pavilions floating on a pontoon, connected to the shore by a small pedestrian bridge that acts as a threshold between land and lake.

After the morning fog dissipates, the shed-like structures emerge from the lake as an invitation to leave the land for a unique retreat.

After testing numerous options, the gabled roof was the form that endured for its simplicity and the manner in which it naturally fits into its dramatic setting of quarry cliffs and forest. Clad in contrasting materials to explore the concept of light and shadow, the building of two halves comprises a changeroom and a sauna. The light-filled changeroom casts subtle silhouettes against the Ampelite cladding while offering enclosure and shelter from the elements and privacy to undress. Once changed, users can sit in the sun looking out to the lake, set to the sounds of water lapping against the pontoon.

The dark, recessive burnt larch sauna takes in another world entirely, one of solitude and reflection. The change of temperature insists on relaxation, and the view’s sole focus on the lake provides an escape from all that lives on the other side of the threshold. So as to further the exploration of light and dark, and extremes of temperature, visitors can choose to take the plunge into the brisk Lake Derby waters before retreating back to the warmth of the timber-lined sauna.

Depending on the time of day, the light captures the buildings differently from sunrise to nightfall, with the floating sauna at times contrasting with the environment, at others blending in with it.

A reimagination of the humble shed on the lake, Licht Architecture’s Floating Sauna does not simply invite stillness, it demands and embodies it. In the simplicity of the agricultural-inspired gable forms, the sequence of leaving the shore behind and venturing out onto the lake, and the interplay between light and dark, warmth and cold, Floating Sauna crafts an experience that is both simple and unique.