Fairytale Sauna Izbushka by Artecology

In Russia it is common to build separate little houses for bath procedures. In Russian such a bath-house is called “Banya”. But the banya which we have built is not an ordinary Russian sauna, but a fairytale one. It is situated at the rear part of the plot, covered with woodland. When you approach it, you feel like you have entered a fairy-tale.

Fairytale sauna created based on sketches and under the leadership of the Russian architect Andrey Bugaev, architectural studio Artecology.

The walls are made of larch logs which are 280 mm in diameter. Five-meter logs are used for the construction, the inner size of the house is 4,2m*4,2m.

Larch wood is extremely resistant to moisture, strong and very pleasant to look at.Many other elements of construction are also made of larch wood. For this reason the bath-house is designedfor decades of exploitation. Butthe woodmust be protected, even such a sturdy one as larch is. All the treatments used in the process of building the hut (or as the Russians would say “Izbushka”), are natural and totally harmless.

The roof of the original bath-house hut immediately attracts attention. It is so soft, warm andfabulous. It is made of reed (Lat. Scírpus), which growsonthe lakeshores. It is laid on the roof in a layer of 35 centimeters, which corresponds to 15 inches.This roofing not only protects from rain, but also from the cold.

The izbushka-banya is heated by a wood burning stove. It is build of brick and its rear part opens to the steam bath section. There are stones laid inside the stove. When they are hot enough, you can start taking a steam bath. The water is poured on the stones and it transforms into a hot steam.

On the second floor there is a small break area, where you can have rest after a steam bath, after climbing the spiral staircase.

This small izbushka-banya nestled between the trees continues Russian traditions of wooden architecture.It reminds us about Russian fairytale palace “Teremok”, hunters lodges in the wood and old time-worn village huts – izbushkas.

In addition to this cozy bath-house on the plot there is a summerhouse built in the same fairytale style.