Bigert & Bergström Design Demountable Egg-shaped Sauna for Sweden’s Northernmost Town

Bigert & Bergström Design Demountable Egg-shaped Sauna for Sweden’s Northernmost Town

Bigert & Bergström studio has revealed its contribution to the redevelopment of Sweden’s most northern town Kiruna, and that is the “Solar Egg”. The Solar Egg is a 5-meter-high egg-shaped sauna from pine wood, enveloped by multiple reflective sheets of golden stainless steel. The various angled sheets reflect the surrounding landscape, sky, snow, and Kiruna’s iron mines. Its 4-meter-wide interior can fit up to 8 people, seated around a central cast iron stove. When not in use the Egg can be dismantled into 69 pieces which can be transferred anywhere and reassembled again when needed.

The project was commissioned by developer Riksbyggen, and it is desired to act as a gathering place for the town’s people and an incubator for new ideas. The idea was triggered by the on-going debate in the city, which might be moving altogether so that LKAB mining company can extract the iron which extends way below the grounds of the town. The iron mines in Kiruna are a major source of income for the town and the whole country, so the town’s upcoming transformation, however devastating, seems to be inevitable.

“Solar Egg has been made as a social sculpture where local people and visitors to the town can meet and, for instance, discuss these challenges,” says the designers. “In the arctic climate of Lapland, the sauna occupies a key position, as a room for warmth and reflection.”