Hudson River Valley Spa

Nestled into the Hudson Valley hillside amidst historical barns, greenhouses and grain silos, the sauna building we designed for a sprawling estate house invites discovery. Located against an existing retaining wall, the sauna capitalizes on a prime vantage point of the Hudson River. It unexpectedly reveals itself to those wandering the grounds, with its form slowly materializing through the surrounding foliage. Mise-en-scene with the estate’s 1940s neo-baroque manor, the sauna’s modern sensibility is highlighted, yet it remains comfortably integrated with the landscape as a whole. The ipe rain screen captures sunlight particularly—either coolly from an overcast sky, or with a pinkish hue as the sun sets over the river. Viewing the landscape from inside, glare from the sun is deterred by the bronze visor running over the windows.