Traditional Finnish cabin saunas in the middle of a city
Anyone who has visited the wellness area at VALO remembers the atmospheric log saunas. In the traditional log saunas, people can relax from their work stress, meet new people, and enjoy the views of Helsinki. The sauna windows offer views of the Ruskeasuo allotment garden and towards Pikku-Huopalahti to the sea.
Jaakko Holma, a log builder from Pielavesi, carved the log saunas. The sauna logs are made of Finnish spruce that Jaakko felled from his backyard.
“When you make a log sauna, in the beginning, when you fell the trees, you cut them to the right size. Then you must see them immediately so they don’t get infested with insects. After that, they are dried for a few years until they have taken on their shape,” Jaakko explains.
“When the building plans are ready, we start thinking about which tree fits where because all the trees have different shapes.”
The saunas were transported from Pielavesi to Helsinki and lifted onto the roof of VALO. There, the saunas were assembled into their proper shape. The log saunas are located on the roof of VALO Hotel & Work’s wellness area. In connection with the construction of the saunas, Jaakko has carved poems onto the walls of the saunas that he came up with during the project.
“What inspires me is that when I got to make these log saunas, there are a lot of people here who may be in a hurry and have spent a lot of time in front of a computer screen. When they enter the sauna and the stove starts to hiss, you can imagine how good it feels for many people. A lot of migraine stays on those benches, and I think that’s great”, Jaakko sums.
Watch the video of our log saunas and Jaakko Holma’s interview
