Egg-Shaped Sauna Mirrors Arctic Landscape in Sweden

Artist duo Bigert & Bergström completed the design of an egg-shaped sauna in Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town. The sculptural installation offers plenty of room for warmth, reflection and rest.

“Solar Egg draws inspiration from Kiruna’s Arctic climate, where light conditions change with the seasons from 24-hour winter darkness to round-the-clock midsummer sun,” the designers said. “The egg is made out of stainless golden mirror sheeting, its multifaceted form breaking up the surroundings that it reflects into a multiplicity of different mirror images.”

The interior is adapted to the oval shape of the construction. The wall panels and floor decking are made out of pine wood and the benches of aspen. In the center you notice the nest-like fireplace, built from stone and iron.

“The egg shape seeks to symbolize rebirth and new opportunities at the start of Kiruna’s urban transformation, a project that involves the relocation of entire city districts in response to ground subsidence caused by decades of iron ore mining,” the studio added.

Project initiator Riksbyggen is an urban developer and the first to build apartments in the new Kiruna. Photography credit: Jean-Baptiste Béranger