This whimsical structure was once an icehouse situated neatly beside a spring-fed brook. Because of its proximity to the brook and because of its character, the owner favored reusing the little building as a sauna. The roof was lifted off and a short timbered wall and oversized roof were added. Windows were placed between timbers that hold the roof aloft. The off-centered roof adds just enough height for elevated benches inside, while the large gable overhang, supported by intrepid timber braces, engages with the space created by a dry stack stone wall cradling an ironwood deck. The deck floats on copper-capped timbers, just barely above the ground. It narrows along the side of the sauna, just enough for a few chairs and bench to sit up against the sun-warmed concrete walls. It terminates at a few carefully placed stone steps into the brook. A roof window lights the sauna’s interior during the day and at night the windows glow softly like a lantern.

Design by Katherine Hillbrand with Donald Rowe.
Landscape Architecture by Jason Aune of LHB Landscape Architects.
Construction by Andlar Construction
Photographs by Chabrielle Photography.