Page 86 - ArchDC_Fall 2020

Small Wonders
Small Wonders

Two Projects Exemplify

Good Design at a

Modest Scale

by Steven K. Dickens, AIA, LEED AP

Washingtonian Residential Design Award
—Small Project

Rocky Knob Sauna
Upper Tract, WV
GriD architects

Onsite Welding: Alt Welding
Welding: Bill’s Portable Welding
Metal Etching: Miller Metal Fabrication
Wood-Burning Stove: MF Fire
Custom Metalwork: Elemental Metalworks

The site of this tiny project, adjacent to a spring-fed pond on a
mountain farm in West Virginia, had had rudimentary saunas in the
past. The concept was revived in 2017, this time as a “research-driven
design/build” project, with students at Morgan State University led by
GriD Architects.
The team researched “ritual sweating” structures from throughout
the world, ranging from the sifutu of South Africa to the hanjeungmak of
Korea and the inipi, hupa, and temazcal, all of Native American tribes.
The jury noted that the Rocky Knob version “is connected to a lot of
precedents but uniquely its own.”
Due to the remoteness of the farm, construction relied exclusively
on transportable power tools or manual execution. This—combined
with the fact that the students would do much of the work themselves, Front façade Photo © Brysen Fischer Photography
supplemented by local tradesmen and craftsmen—compelled the
design team to design the process of construction as much as the actual
architectural element. Notably, a hand winch was devised to ease the
2,500-pound steel-plate roof into place.
These considerations, however, did not result in a simplified
structure. The sauna includes concrete, steel frame, steel panels, and
wood, and features flared walls and numerous non-rectangular forms.
Salvaged rough-cut oak from an adjacent renovated cabin was hand-
torched to create planks of shou sugi ban, a use of wood appropriate
for a sauna due to its fire-resistance, but currently mostly used for
aesthetic effect in very high-budget houses (including a couple
featured in this issue). Function is a central concern, from the provision
of wood storage space to the comfortable angle of the walls behind the
benches. Ornament was not forsaken, either: it appears in the steel heat
shields, doors, and screen (an etched arabesque pattern inspired by
traditional quilts) and a fire-lion cutout in the door.
“There’s a roughness that is appealing,” stated the jury. “You can
see the presence of the hand. It’s the ultimate primitive hut.”
Sauna interior, with fire-lion Photo © Brysen Fischer Photography
cut-out in the door.
84 SMALL WONDERS