Serlachius Museums’ Art Sauna A journey for all the senses

How does a sauna relate to a museum? Why does a museum build a sauna? Serlachius Museums’ Art Sauna integrates Finnish sauna culture into an experience of art, nature and architecture. The Art Sauna can be enjoyed at public sauna sessions, held on Tuesdays throughout the year, or by reserving the entire sauna for private use.

The Art Sauna has been designed by the internationally renowned award-winning architects Héctor Mendoza, Mara Partida and Boris Bežan , the same trio who also designed the Serlachius Museums’ timber-frame extension, the Pavilion, which opened in 2014. Pekka Pakkanen is the Finnish architect partner in the project.

The starting point for the design of the Art Sauna was the desire to bring something new and unique to Serlachius’ non-traditional art setting. Among the hundreds of thousands of saunas in Finland, there is reportedly no other Art Sauna – at least not one attached to a museum.

“We decided to create an experiential sauna path, along which we hope visitors will gain memorable perceptions through all the senses. The sauna path ends in a round steam room, accessed via an outdoor space. It is reminiscent of a traditional Finnish sauna path, reached by running across a snowy yard,” says Päivi Viherkoski, Development Director of the Serlachius Museums.

Alternating hard stone and warm wood

The starting point for the architecture of the unique Art Sauna is a horizontal line defined for the whole Museum complex, with stone below and wood above. The sauna is concealed behind the museum on a slope descending to the shore of the lake, and it blends into the landscape, rising unassumingly above the terrain. A green roof further merges the building into its setting.

The interior spaces of the sauna are characterised by a dialogue of art, landscape and architecture. Stone and wood surfaces alternate rhythmically, and the curved lines of the lobby’s ceiling soften the straight lines of the stone finish. The entrance to the sauna and the layout of the rooms lead the sauna visitor on a journey into the embrace of light, nature and art.

“Actually, the Gösta extension, the building itself, is part of an emotional journey that starts and continues with different elements of the context. The new Art Sauna is presented as part of that journey, and it will become ‘more than a sauna room’, integrating nature and art on a more intimate and proximate scale,” conclude the Art Sauna’s architects.

At the end of 2022, the Art Sauna won the Travel Industry Innovation of the Year award at the Finnish Travel Gala. In its rationale for making the award, the jury described the Art Sauna as bringing new colour to the world of cultural tourism. The Art Sauna was also nominated for the 2022 Finlandia Award for Architecture. At the beginning of 2023, the sauna also won the Finnish Concrete Structure of the Year award.

Finnish contemporary art and international design

In addition to the sauna and its changing and shower facilities, the Art Sauna includes a large living room, which is well suited for organising various events. Every day a different view of the lake opens out from the large viewing window. An extensive cooling off yard has a bubble tub that is in use all year round. The sauna visit is crowned by the chance to take a dip from the end of a long jetty, to swim in the lake and, in winter, an ice hole.

In addition to Finnish contemporary art, the sauna also features utility items. Satu Rautiainen’s large-scale commissioned work Birdbath (2022) decorates the wall of the lobby. The theme of the work is also repeated in sauna textiles designed by Rautiainen. Tuula Lehtinen’s mosaic work Embrace (2022) decorates a semi-circular outdoor shower, which is in use all year round. Other artists include Jussi Goman, Anne Koskinen, Laura Könönen, Anni Rapinoja and Noora Schroderus

The interior of the sauna features furniture from top international designers such as Òscar Tusquets , Patricia Urquiola , J asper Morrison and Faye Toogood Alvar Aalto, Eero Aarnio, Lisa Johansson-Pape and Antrei Hartikainen are among the Finnish designers represented in the sauna.

Finnish sauna culture attracting interest worldwide

Sauna culture has enjoyed an upsurge in popularity both in Finland and internationally. Particularly in Japan, a real sauna boom is currently under way. The interest there was sparked by a Manga strip cartoon about a sauna and a drama series based on it. As a result, women and young people have also become interested in the sauna. In the past, saunas in Japan have mainly been considered to be a pastime for older men.

Ayana Palander, who is Japanese and has lived in Finland for ten years, knows both the Finnish and the Japanese sauna culture well. Ayana, who works as a media coordinator, has also brought Japanese sauna visitors to the Serlachius Art Sauna.

Articles about Finnish saunas written by two well-known, high-circulation magazines have fuelled the interest of the Japanese even more. A popular comedian's video of his honeymoon, during which he visited the Serlachius Art Sauna, has become a real hit. This interest has been clearly evident in the increase in the number of Japanese people attending the Art Sauna’s public sauna sessions.

“The Japanese are now taking sauna-oriented trips to Finland. Men are

Serlachius Museums

Located in art town Mänttä-Vilppula, the Serlachius Museums offer, in addition to art, experiences amidst nature, history, award-winning architecture and fabulous flavours.

Serlachius Museum Gösta shows international and Finnish contemporary art in several exhibitions. From the Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation’s own collection are displayed classics of the Golden Age of Finnish art, including works by Akseli Gallen-Kallela , Albert Edelfelt and Helene Schjerfbeck.

Serlachius Museum Gustaf, the head office of the former Serlachius paper industry company, tells of the origin of Mänttä’s paper industry through dramatised history and narratives.

Art Museum Gösta is home to Restaurant Gösta, which offers pure Nordic flavours under the direction of award-winning restaurateur Henry Tikkanen. At the restaurant, located next to a beautiful park landscape, museum visits can continue with culinary delights. In the summer, 1 June–31 August, the summer café Autere Cottage, located beside the museum, also offers light salad and soup lunches.

particularly interested in Finland and sauna tourism. On a one- or two-week visit, they may tour numerous different saunas around Finland,” says Ayana.

According to Ayana, the Serlachius Art Sauna meets all the requirements that the Japanese set for a Finnish sauna. The most important element is an excellent steam room and the chance to swim in a lake and, in winter, an ice hole. The experience is complemented by the Art Sauna’s clear architecture and the surrounding beautiful nature. Japanese people, says Atana, are ready to travel a long way for the sauna experience. They are also fairly well aware of the differences in countries’ sauna cultures. Ayana suggests that the Serlachius Art Sauna can be marketed to foreigners as an easy-going sauna experience. Then the visitors will know that sauna etiquette permits chatting and pouring water on to the sauna stones. s

SERLACHIUS MUSEUMS' ART SAUNA

Joenniementie 47, 35800 Mänttä

Public sauna

Tuesdays, 12 noon–6 p.m.

Tickets

10/7 € for a two-hour sauna session

Free for children under 4 years old. Book your sauna session in advance on our website: serlachius.fi/en/service/ art-sauna-public-sauna-day www.serlachius.fi

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