Ondsauna Sauna by Taro Shimokawa is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award de Bronze in Design de Arquitetura, Edifícios e Estruturas Competition Category.

BronzeArquitetura· 2025

Ondsauna Sauna

by Taro Shimokawa

Client: Ondpark

A' Design Award de Bronze Winner in Arquitetura Category

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Verified Award Winner
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The Design

About Ondsauna Sauna

Ondsauna é um edifício de sauna implantado no interior de uma floresta. Paredes exteriores verticais agrupam-se em torno da sala de sauna, ecoando o crescimento ascendente das árvores. Um percurso em espiral conduz a um espaço de relaxamento na cobertura. A entrada situa-se 250 milímetros acima do nível do solo, o deck do banho frio a 1000 milímetros e a cobertura a 3250 milímetros, pelo que o percurso da sauna para o banho frio e depois para o ar livre é vertical. Uma planta poligonal irregular e bancos com ângulos obtusos orientam as linhas de visão e permitem que os visitantes escolham o seu nível de interação.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronze

Ondsauna Sauna conquistou o A' Design Award de Bronze, um reconhecimento altamente prestigiado atribuído a designs notáveis que se distinguem pela criatividade, engenho e perspicácia. Os vencedores do Bronze são artefactos amplamente habilidosos e surpreendentemente criativos que comprovam a vasta experiência, imaginação e capacidade de iniciativa dos seus designers. Espera-se que Ondsauna Sauna seja um objeto muito considerado, admirado e estimado, notavelmente profissional e inovador. Este design vencedor do A' Design Award de Bronze incorpora as melhores práticas em arte, ciência, design e tecnologia e é excelente pela sua atenção ao detalhe. Ondsauna Sauna satisfaz esplendidamente necessidades, toca desejos, encanta sentimentos e desperta curiosidade.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Trees grow endlessly upward, a concept reflected in the vertical exterior walls clustered around the sauna room. A spiraling path leads upward to a rooftop relaxation space, mirroring the building's form. The sauna entrance is at GL+250, the cold plunge deck at GL+1000, and the rooftop at GL+3250, so the transition from sauna to cold plunge to open air follows a vertical flow. Viewing the forest at treetop height allows one to share in its growth rhythm.
Dimensions & Packaging: The irregular plan was chosen to allow the passage and expansion of the line of sight and to adjust the degree of intimacy, which was rationally solved by the 150mm CLT floor slab. The elimination of beams has eliminated non-perpendicular joints in the structure, contributing to labor savings in site work. The rational walls of the scale module are discretely assembled and the CLT slab connects them. This structural form itself can be described as a sociopetal structure.
Production Technology: An irregular polygonal floor plan guides sightlines, creating varied scenic views. Research shows conversations are twice as frequent at 90 degrees versus side-by-side. Here, strangers sit together, so we chose obtuse-angled benches to balance interaction and privacy, encouraging conversation without intrusion. Varied seating allows for different levels of interaction, while the overall arrangement around a fire fosters a shared experience.
Inspiration: In a sauna, strangers sit nearly naked in close proximity, creating potential intimacy. Yet in Japan, public saunas haven’t fostered this sense of community. By aligning with Japan’s unique sense of closeness, we aim to create a sociopetal space, encouraging shared understanding without forced intimacy. “Non-intrusive” walls balance connection and separation; their verticality resonates with the forest, while their spacing draws nature in and modulates closeness among neighbors.

Read the Press Release