Sauna Plus

This small cabin sits beside a restored prairie at Tryon Farm, a preserve of meadows, dunes and oakwood forests in the Michiana region. Rather than expanding their existing residence, the client requested a separate structure designed to foster a simpler, more direct connection to the landscape. The initial design brief called for a Finnish-style sauna. This was later expanded to include a small indoor gathering area and a sleeping loft on the second floor, positioned at the height of the surrounding tree canopy.

The form of the cabin was developed in response to the nearby main house, a modernist building with a flat roof and a single shed roof at its northwest corner. The cabin echoes and simplifies this form, creating a design that is distinct but still connected to its context. Larch wood clads both the interior and exterior. The exterior is finished using the traditional Japanese Shou Sugi Ban technique, which chars the wood to increase durability and resistance to weather. Inside, natural Larch is left untreated, referencing the material and thermal qualities of Finnish saunas. The continuous use of wood across walls, ceilings, and built-in elements creates an atmosphere of simplicity, warmth, and a unified relationship between material, assembly and form.