We were trendsetters back in 2016 when Bethany built the UK’s original wood-fired horse box sauna. Since then there has been an huge expansion in sauna culture around the UK!

The sauna is a rexlaxing, sensory + disarming space. Temperatures vary between 80-100c, with humidity adjusted by adding water to the stones, producing a light steam. 

Sauna-bathing stimulates circulation, stimulates the release of endorphins, relieves stress, relaxes muscles, soothes aches and can induce deeper sleep. The negative ions released by the stove into the air are also beneficial… I’ll write more when I’ve properly researched negative ions (bit confusing). Basically, life always feels great when you’ve had a sauna.

We've been to yards, streets, fields, live art festivals, music venues and artist residencies all over the UK, and now we’re setting up a permanent home in Sheffield as WARMTH Community Sauna.

WARMTH is built in a converted horse trailer using top quality Finnish thermo-Aspen timber and a powerful Estonian wood-burning stove. The stove heats the sauna up to 80-100c, with hot stones + fresh water to create the perfect löyly - Finnish for sauna-steam.

- fully timber clad, with two tiers of benches
- wood burning stove with peridotite rocks
- logs drying under the benches
- bucket/scoop to splash water on the rocks
- a selection of oils [eucalyptus, camphor, pine] to scent the steam
- a fire-resistant felt roof
- wipeable black rubber floor
- slatted wooden floor decking

2011: TENT SAUNA

In 2011 I experimented with a tent-sauna as part of an architecture research project at Department 21, whilst at the RCA. I had been intrigued by sauna culture since working on an organic farm in Western Finland, and also spending time overhearing conversations in saunas at a permaculture festival called Sunrise Off Grid. I’d become fascinated by both the sensory and social conditions in the sauna + how it had a warming + anti-hierarchical effect on the groups + individuals who came and went from the space.

Trained in architecture and now working in performance design, I have always been drawn to spatial environments that have the ability to shape the social culture and tone of interaction that takes place within them. The sauna context soon became a central part of my practice + has profoundly influenced my politics + ethos as a designer; I love that something as simple as a small timber box heated to 80+ c and hosted well, can be such a quietly radical act. The sauna can be a catalyst for friendship, encounter + discussion as well as a place of quiet reflection + reconnection with the senses.

2015: HORSE BOX SAUNA

I started planning the next phase of WARMTH in 2015, and after several attempts, with support from Compass Live Art, succeeded in getting Arts Council funding to get started with the design + construction. The idea behind WARMTH has always been to try + make it free or donation-only for the public to try out, reducing the threshold + barrier that a lot of people experience when they see a sign announcing: SAUNA. I’m really grateful that the public funding from Compass + ACE allowed me to maintain a totally open-door to the sauna + I’ve often been able to have no admission fee at WARMTH pop-ups, to spread the joy of saunas + reach new audiences.

The concept of making WARMTH mobile was inspired by the many beautiful + bizarre saunas at the Mobile Sauna Festival in Teuva + coming across Sweat It Out, a project by DS Institute in Boston. I decided to convert an existing structure rather than build a cabin on a platform, and chose a Richardson Rice horse-box from a farm in Lincoln as the base for the sauna; suitable for travelling on the motorway + already weatherproof. The back doors were sealed up + it was lined with aluminium foil bubble-wrap and then battened out. The timber studwork was lined with sheep wool insulation, which has proved fantastic at keeping the heat in the structure. The floor needed re-covering, and lining with rubber to make it easy to wash down + clean.

For more mobile sauna design inspiration, have a look at this fantastic book by the BC Mobile Sauna Society.

TIMBER

The timbers used throughout the sauna have been carefully selected for their different properties + qualities:

The benches in the sauna are made from Thermo Aspen, heat-treated to give it greater structural stability to cope with the intense heating and cooling that happens each day in the sauna. Over the last two years the warm caramel colour of the thermo aspen has faded slightly. It now looks well-loved + worn. The benches get washed down daily with warm water; we never use harsh products in the sauna as scent is really important to the experience.

For the lining, I chose a grooved aspen board. These panels haven’t been heat treated so have retained their pale colour. We chose a fluted tongue + groove vertical boarding to match the fireproof boards around the stove. Timber for sauna-building has to be carefully selected to have as few knots as possible. (Knots release sap in the heat, which is really sticky to get off your hands/hair). The high temperatures ensure that the sauna stays clean - saunas are easier to maintain than steam rooms or hot tubs; the damp and lower temperatures in steam rooms/hot tubs allow bacteria to grow; which doesn’t happen in the 100c heat of the sauna.

The cladding + bench timber was sourced from Prestige Saunas.

STOVE

The stove in my experimental tent-sauna was made by sculptor Rob Bellman from an old gas canister. It was fun to make + great to see it in use, glowing at the top with the intense heat… but when I built WARMTH I decided to do a complete upgrade.

The wood burning stove is at the heart of the sauna. I chose a powerful Kota wood-burning sauna stove from Narvi Finland and love using it. We always burn seasoned hardwood; sometimes birch, sometimes alder or aspen. We store the timber under the sauna benches to keep it dry + warm ready to burn. Our logs at the moment are seasoned silver birch, which seems to get the sauna up to a really great temperature. The bark of the birch logs makes a really good kindling.

FELT ROOF / HATS

My initial tent-sauna was timber framed, with a scaffold-wrap outer layer + entirely lined with felt. I had really enjoyed the soft, dark cocoon-like interior that it created, and its associations with Joseph Beuys and Arte Povera.

The curve on the roof of the horse box was something I wanted to preserve, and rather than lining with timber, decided to experiment with fire resistant felt. After a lot of research I found a lovely thick dark grey industrial wool felt, which is naturally fire resistant, and has stood up well to the last three years-worth of sauna sessions. I finished off the design with steel studs + washers, which resemble a grid of stars in the dark grey matt ceiling.

I was initially worried the felt would get wet with the steam + sweat, but just like the wool insulation in the walls, it breathes with changes in temperature, absorbing + releasing humidity naturally as the sauna heats + cools, and has never felt damp or attracted mould.

We also have felt hats available to wear in the sauna; I buy them round the corner from my house at a Russian supermarket. It might sound counter-intuitive, but the felt hats protect your head from the most intense heat in the sauna, and allow you to stay in the sauna longer.

PRESS and listings for WARMTH:

The F Word Stage Blog on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2018
https://thefword.org.uk/2018/10/the-f-word-stage-blog-october-2018/

The Culture Vulture, podcast on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2108
https://theculturevulture.co.uk/cultures/compass-festival-warmth/

Leeds City Magazine on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2018
http://leedscitymagazine.co.uk/compass-festival-returns-to-leeds/

Artlyst on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2018
https://www.artlyst.com/previews/compass-2018-live-art-interactive-encounters-across-leeds/

TLM Magazine on WARMTH at Brighton Fringe [Brighton Fringe residency organised by Katie Bracher]
https://www.tlm-magazine.co.uk/out-and-about/p321969-warmth:brighton.html

Leeds Inspired on WARMTH at Arctic Bazaar, 2017
https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/events/arctic-bazaar-0

Creative Tourist on WARMTH at the Arctic Bazaar, 2017
https://www.creativetourist.com/event/arctic-bazaar/

Art Hostel blog on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2016
https://arthostel.org.uk/category/past-projects/

Leeds Inspired on WARMTH at Compass Festival 2016
https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/events/warmth-mobile-sauna-bethany-wells

WARMTH mobile sauna at the Antiuniversity, June 2017
http://www.antiuniversity.org/Other-Acts-of-Public-WARMTH

HISTORY OF WARMTH

Since 2011 WARMTH has been evolving collaboration with many sites, artists + supporters. Starting with experiments at the RCA with Department 21, and then in 2016 with funding + support from Arts Council England + Compass Live Art to develop the sauna as a site for performance + installation. Thank you to everyone who has supported us + collaborated with us so far:

Eden Project North
For commissioning WARMTH to run a pop-up in Morecambe in November 2019, in collaboration with More Music and Creative West End.

SKINT International Dance + Music Weekend
For inviting WARMTH to their annual festival in Derbyshire in Autumn 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Basin Bathhouse
For inviting WARMTH up to Glasgow as part of their Basin Bathhouse installation in May 2019. Curated by Nikki Kane and Clara Weale, with bathhouse design by Jennifer Argo.

SYLLABUS
For inviting WARMTH to their artist residency at S1 Artspace, Sheffield, April 2019.

The Culture Vulture
For creating a podcast about WARMTH, Compass Festival 2018

Compass Festival, North Star Coffee, Primal Gym + Leeds Dock
For partnering with WARMTH during Compass Festival 2018. Special thanks to Anna Turzynski + Rochyne Delaney McNulty for support in running the sauna at Compass Festival 2018.

North Star Coffee, Leeds
For hosting a screening of Steam of Life, Compass Festival 2018.

Brighton Fringe
For hosting WARMTH during May/June 2018. Thanks to Katie Bracher who initiated + ran this pop-up under the title of WARMTH Brighton. There was a great local response to WARMTH Brighton, and Katie has now established another horse-trailer sauna: Beach Box Brighton, inspired by the design of WARMTH.

Islington Mill, Salford
For hosting WARMTH in July 2018. Special thanks Olivia Glasser who initiated, co-ordinated + ran this event under title of WARMTH: Encore Room Residency.

Arctic Bazaar, at the Art Hostel, Leeds
For inviting us to be a central part of their winter festival. The Arctic Bazaar was a collaboration between &/or Emporium and Imaginaria, in partnership with East Street Arts and Art Hostel. December 2017.

Lakes International Comic Arts Festival
For inviting us to their Finnish Village + festival of Finnish illustration, in partnership with Finnish Institute, October 2017.

Art Hostel, Leeds
For partnering with WARMTH during Compass Festival 2016. Special thanks to Robyn Haddon for support in running the sauna at Compass Festival, October 2016.

Slung Low, Leeds, Stocksbridge Community Leisure Centre, Sheffield, + Islington Mill, Salford
For hosting our WARMTH artist residencies + test sessions in April 2016

Antiuniversity, London
For hosting WARMTH, June 2016

Bones + Pearl Studios, London
For hosting WARMTH, April 2016

CADS, Sheffield
For their support during the build process for WARMTH, Dec/Jan 2015/6

Arts Council England + Compass Live Art
For commissioning + supporting the development of WARMTH in 2015/6.

Special thanks to all the artists + performers who took part in our initial Compass artist residency, April 2016:
Top Joe, performer
Tim Shaw, sound artist
Nick Cassenbaum, performer + writer
Viccy Adams, writer
gen doy, performer + artist
Alice Malseed, performer + writer

Hilda Törmänen + Ross Hvidsten, Helsinki
For hosting WARMTH research trip + tours round Helsinki's public saunas, January 2014

Finnish Sauna Society, Helsinki
For a guided tour around the 6 saunas at the Finnish Sauna Society, January 2014

Hanna Pasanen, CSM
For hosting a discussion around Finnish sauna at the Finnish Church in London, May 2014

Kulttuurisauna, Helsinki
For sauna stove recommendations

Royal College of Art
For hosting WARMTH, at the Work in Progress Show, Februrary 2011

Department 21, RCA 2010-11
Special thanks to all D21 artists who contributed to WARMTH in February 2011:
Anthony Bowles [sauna construction]
Afonso Martin [furniture construction]
Alkesh Parmar [sauna construction]
Aloka [hosting SilentRCA day]
Andrew Willson [facilitator [SilentRCA]
Bianca Elzenbaumer [sauna construction, D21/Brave New Alps]
Deniz Johns [installation + workshop host]
Deshna Metha [photography + illustration]
Grant Mcraig [sauna construction]
Karolina Raczynska [installation]
Rob Bellman [sauna stove construction]
Sophie Demay [D21 co-ordinator, furniture construction]