Loyly Floating Sauna Raises Bar on Relaxation With Ingenious and Minimalist Design

That's right, folks, the structure you see is not some multi-million dollar yacht meant to escort you around the world in unspeakable style, but rather, the simplest pleasure you can find. Best of all, with a bit of ingenuity, you too can make your own.

However, before you get to that stage, let's just look at the design and how it came to be. According to Gessato, the Löyly was created by Tolle Rudebeck Harr as his graduate degree project. The sauna takes its inspiration from Finnish and Japanese architecture, and the result is so clean and straightforward that it must have helped Trolle graduate with honors.

The structure is built similarly to pontoons with floats, or in this case, barrels, underneath the main deck to help the Löyly float on any body of water with a large enough surface area. On top of the floats, a wrap-around deck made of Swiss Douglas fir with a teak oil finish offers visitors the possibility of a 360 view of the world around them. With a neat little step ladder that sits slightly submerged in the surrounding water, the base of Löyly is complete.

On the other hand, the spa construction is similar to a very, very tiny home. The same wood is used to complete this space too, but segments of the sauna feature semi-opaque screens that look as if they're made from nothing more than simple polycarbonate. These screens keep eyes out but also help keep the structure as light as possible.

Inside the sauna, don't expect to see much; how many different activities can you carry out in a place like this? Don't answer that. In the spirit of a simple lifestyle, nothing more than a wood-fueled stove and a bench is found inside. Sure, the stove will be heating up a pile of volcanic rock or whatever else you use, but that's it. Just a water bucket and ladle are all that you have to provide. Seeing as how water is all around, there's no use in bringing any with you except to drink.

This brings me to the final aspect of Löyly. Judging by the images in the gallery, Löyly is the sort of construction that you'll be putting together on-site. Don't worry, you won't be receiving just a pile of wood, metal, and plastic, but you'll be given step-by-step instructions on how to complete your sauna piece by piece.

Beyond the function of a sauna, however, the Löyly can be used for several other activities. You can simply use the structure as a space to have a small gathering, lounge around, sunbathe, or do like the models in the image and use it as a diving platform. The designer also created Löyly to be customizable and can be modified to your liking.

As is, the idea is so simple it basically should sell itself. So far, no news on when we can order our very own Löyly, but I don't want to be the bearer of bad news for the designer, but for a few thousand bucks, you can very well build your own and save on the shipping costs. I think I just found my next DIY project.