05/05/2025
Lifestyle
A rustic cabin in the tranquility of a forest or lake or a special area in an ultramodern apartment - the sauna is priceless because of our duty to pleasure. And to health. Lassi Likanen knows everything about the authentic Finnish sauna. And he shares it with the world.
by TEODORA NIKOLOVA
Dr. Lassi Likanen is a designer and lecturer at Aalto University. After about five years of research, meetings, interviews with experts, historians, culturologists, he published the book The Secrets of Finnish Sauna Design. He also created the website Saunologia.fi, where he published hundreds of articles. The book collects the wisdom and experience of masters, builders and designers of saunas over the centuries. It seeks the answers to all the questions related to how to achieve functionality that allows maximum enjoyment and benefits from the experience.
For me, practicing a Finnish sauna is a wonderful act of meditation, a mental exercise where one meets one's full bodily existence, experiences it, enjoys it. It helps him focus on the moment without the distraction of smart devices and social media. It gives him a well-deserved rest.
At Saunologia, we design custom sauna designs for anywhere in the world. Creating a Finnish sauna to suit any situation is possible, although the overall experience will be different if you are in Singapore, Peru or Sweden. But it all starts with the magical microclimate in the Finnish sauna, which can be achieved in most places where people live. I've even designed a sauna concept for Mars! You just have to consider the context.
At the moment in Finland, people often overlook good air quality. This is what we mostly help our clients with. The other particularly important thing is the dialogue design of benches and ceiling. Elsewhere in the world, people can also make more basic mistakes – forgetting to add stones to the heater or never spilling water on the stones.
A sauna is a special kind of thermal bath, and to call it a "hot room" would be a huge understatement. It is more of a living room, but with a different function. The climate of an authentic Finnish sauna is constantly changing – more or less hot, more or less humid.
Traditional saunas feature exposed heaters filled with stones and a bench located above the heater and near the ceiling. From my experience, the most important are the heat, air quality and interior design.
A well-designed and therefore well-functioning sauna attracts in a natural way, makes you want to use it often. And regular sauna use, according to recent research, can lead to incredible long-term health benefits. That's why good design and good execution are the first, crucial step to getting the most out of your sauna's benefits.
I recommend all types of saunas that you can enjoy. For those who have the opportunity, an outdoor sauna is a better option, as it makes it easier to take your mind off the rhythm of everyday life. But nothing is ever certain until the overall big picture of a particular situation is understood.
Wood that does not contain sap or any harmful substances is an excellent choice. The Finnish sauna can also work with other somewhat hygroscopic materials. In fact, wood is only a good choice if you're not painting it.
There is no best solution, but there may be a worse one – associated with increased energy consumption, emissions or environmental pollution. I would like to see a sauna that is heated entirely by direct solar energy.
Sauna village (Saunakylä) in Jämsa for the summer season. It's amazing. Lake Kuusijarvi to Vantaa, just 20 minutes from our big international airport. And Tampere, the self-proclaimed sauna capital of the world.
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