Sauna

At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking this neat little structure is a tiny house, but it's actually a sauna. Named the Aquila Sauna, it runs fully off-grid and allows up to six people to get their sweat on.

In a new study from the University of Oregon, scientists turned up the temperature to see which type of passive heat therapy packs the most health punch – hot baths, traditional saunas, or those fancy far-infrared saunas.

Tiny houses are not just for living in, and we've seen the towable dwellings repurposed for everything from a wedding chapel to a pub. Dragon Tiny Homes recently came up with yet another use for them in the form of a portable sauna.

Shipping containers continue to inspire architects and designers. This example comes from Backcountry Containers, which has created a container-based sauna and plunge pool that can be easily installed in a backyard.

What's better than a backyard sauna? A sauna you can use in your backyard or tow anywhere else you might be inclined to use it. The all-new Saltsaun NW is a versatile on-/off-road trailer that carries a toasty cedar wood sauna virtually anywhere.

This particular golden egg wasn't laid by a goose, but was instead designed by Swedish artists Studio Bigert & Bergström for co-op housing association Riksbyggen. It's named the Solar Egg and serves as a novel little sauna, allowing visitors to get their sweat on in Sweden's far-north.

​We've already heard that things like special enzymes and fresh produce may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. According to new research, however, you can now add "taking saunas" to that list – and the more often you take them, the better.

Steaming in a sauna is an essential part of Finnish culture, but the number of public saunas is said to be in decline. A new sauna in Helsinki called Löyly is designed to attract tourists, and also allows male and female visitors to bathe together.

Back in February, Gizmag featured the design for a proposed floating sauna that would be moored on Lake Washington in Seattle. The aim was to create a place of refuge for locals and a space to relax. Now, with a revised design, the project is almost ready to cast off.

Those looking for a more private sauna experience could do worse than the appropriately-named One Man Sauna. Based within the grounds of an abandoned factory, the sauna was created as part of an ongoing project to help re-invigorate the local area following a factory closure.

For dedicated surfers, even the colder months aren't enough to keep them from a good swell. But if peeing in the wetsuit isn't fending off the cold anymore, it might be time to head to shore and the warm refuge of the Surf Sauna.

Architecture firm goCstudio is planning to launch a floating sauna on Lake Washington, Seattle, later this year. According to goCstudio, the sauna will be accessed by kayak and will provide, "an enticing refuge from the city, a moment to escape, relax and reinvigorate."