Egg-shaped sauna in Kiruna

Have you ever seen this before? This is an egg-shaped sauna! When not in use, Solar Egg can be broken down into 69 separate components which can be reassembled elsewhere, rendering the entire sauna completely mobile. According to B&B studio 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. Landscape, mine, town, sky, sun and snow are here combined into a fragmented image that can evoke associations with the complexity spanned by today’s discussion about climate and sustainable community development.

Connection of smart design, culture and local changes

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. In the arctic climate of Lapland the sauna occupies a key position, as a room for warmth and reflection. B&B have taken up this tradition and developed a sculptural symbol that prompts thoughts of rebirth and an incubator that nurtures conversation and exchanges of ideas. The project is a continuation of the artists strategy to incorporate the climate into the experience of the artwork which was initiated with the Climate Chambers in 1994, says B&B studio.

Standing 16 feet (5m) tall, the eye-catching egg is comprised of a pine wood interior and highly reflective gold plated steel panels that reflect the environment surrounding the sauna. In the center rests a heart-shaped sauna stove cast from iron.

“Landscape, mine, town, sky, sun and snow are here combined into a fragmented image that can evoke associations with the complexity spanned by today’s discussion about climate and sustainable community development,” said artist Mats Bigert.

egg-shaped sauna

egg-shaped sauna

Inside egg-shaped sauna

Inside, the pine-clad interior surrounds a handmade wood-fired burner, encased in a iron cage in the shape of an anatomical heart. The burner is filled with large stones to conduct the heat, which varies between 75 and 85 degrees Celsius.

“The iron ore is and has been – ever since it first began to be extracted at the end of the 19th century – an important source of income for Sweden, and absolutely vital for the town of Kiruna,” said Bigert. “No mine, no town.”

egg-shaped sauna inside

egg-shaped sauna inside