By Nigel F. Maynard

Project: Rocky Knob Sauna / Location: Upper Tract, W. Va. / Architect: GriD architects / Metal Workers: Elemental Metalworks and Miller Metal Works / Photos: Brycen Fischer Photography

Somewhere on a remote mountain farm in West Virginia is a sauna that is both modern and rustic, built with reclaimed lumber, concrete and steel. The client for the sauna “was interested in building a more permanent version of the somewhat temporary structures they had used previously for this purpose,” says architect Alick Dearie, AIA, principal of GriD architects in Baltimore and Annapolis, Md. “The hope is to empower future generations of the family to benefit from this tradition.”

The owner’s history with the sauna typology was rich. Over the years, a series of rudimentary saunas had been constructed since the late 1970’s, Dearie says. “Each iteration advanced the relative permanence of the structure. Unfortunately, the last iteration burned down a quarter century after the first. For another 15 years, the site–at the edge of a spring fed pond–lay dormant, setting the stage for another generation to reimagine the sauna.”

Looking for a replacement, the client reached out to GriD to design something special. The firm, in turn, used the project as a research-driven design/build effort that included students, professionals and craftsmen.

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“My partner and co-founder, Brian Grieb, is a tenured faculty member at Morgan State University in Baltimore,” Dearie says. “In the Spring semester leading up to the summer we built the sauna, we actually initiated an independent study course with students who researched the history and traditions of ritual sweating around the world (ie. Sauna’s, sweat lodges, etc.).” The architect says the information reinforced the team’s interest in designing something particular to the place and the particular interests of their client.

In designing the building, the architects drew references from the region–West Virginia, Appalachian farm buildings, quilting patterns and sheds. Even the orientation of the structure is significant and influences its form: the entrance faces a well-worn path around the pond (which has always been used to access the sauna) and the large window facing the pond itself, the architect says.

“More functional drivers also define the way it looks, including the 15% ideal angle for reclining, sloping the ¼-inch plate steel roof to direct water back into the pond itself or off behind the structure,” Dearie explains. “We also wanted it to be ultra durable, requiring very little maintenance, hence the use of plate steel, charred wood, glass, etc. All of these influences end up with a form and atmosphere recalling the local farm buildings, which have deteriorated over time, perhaps even appearing to erode and fall down.”

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The team built the sauna by hand, mostly over a 10-day period with students from Morgan State. GriD (Brian in particular) acted as general contractor and managed all of the procurement, delivery and tool acquisition. They used 10,000 pounds of concrete for the base and then repurposed the formwork for rough framing. Tubular steel makes up the framing that supports a 2,500-pound ¼-inch plate steel roof. A traditional West Virginia quilt pattern was etched into heat shield, door and privacy screen, and reclaimed rough-cut oak from an adjacent renovated cabin was hand torched for use as exterior cladding. They also sanded some of that oak for use as the interior finish and benches.

So what did they learn from the project? 

“The most important lesson is how much actually making and building things informs our understanding of what we do,” Dearie explains. “Having all taught architecture for universities (ie. Morgan State and Maryland), my partners (Brian and Justin Obringer) and I feel it’s a shame so few architects have hands-on construction experience. We’ve always been inspired by student lead design/build initiatives such as Design/Build Bluff (University of Utah), the Rural Studio (Auburn) and Ghost (outside of Halifax). There is simply no replacement for having hands-on experience and we intend to continue doing projects such as this in partnerships with universities, in an effort to bridge this gap, but also to inspire and train ourselves and our staff.”