Shiiba Village Sauna Design Contest

Atelier Pacific recently participated in the Shiiba Village Sauna Design Contest 2022 in Japan. Shiiba is considered one of Japan’s three most unexplored regions. Abundant in cedar woodland, rivers and small lakes. To encourage visitors to enjoy the beautiful scenery and nature of the region, this architectural competition sought suggestions for a small sauna building that could readily be dismantled and moved around locations according to the season.

Our building design was inspired by the calligraphic composition of the Kanji word “丘” (Oka, meaning mountain) and is prefabricated using local cedar wood, cut to form posts and beams held together using the traditional “Sashimono” joinery method (without using nails) and enclosed with timber “skin” panels crafted using a CNC Shopbot to add textures of different thickness and translucency so that panels can be closed when needed to create an intimate sauna experience, then opened to liberate the breeze and invite meditation upon the wild Japanese scenery.