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Buildner is pleased to announce the results of the Iceland Slow Sauna Competition, an international ideas competition that invited architects and designers to envision a sauna and greenhouse retreat on the shores of Lake Mývatn in North Iceland. Organized in collaboration with Óli and Bianca of Slow Travel Mývatn, the competition explored how architecture can unite wellness, sustainability, and nature, challenging participants to create spaces that celebrate Iceland's geothermal culture while responding sensitively to the surrounding volcanic landscape.
The competition attracted an outstanding range of submissions, showcasing diverse interpretations of a modest architectural brief. The jury particularly recognized projects that approached the sauna as a sequence of carefully choreographed experiences rather than a single building, balancing environmental performance, material restraint, and a strong connection to the landscape. Across the strongest proposals, architecture became a medium for slowing down, encouraging reflection, and strengthening the relationship between people and place.
The competition's First Prize and Student Award were awarded to Prusha Kadir, Joel Jansson, and Emil Sandström (Sweden) for Linear Ritual, a carefully composed retreat that organizes the sauna experience as a linear progression through greenhouse, shower, and sauna while responding sensitively to the climate, vernacular architecture, and volcanic landscape of Mývatn. Second Prize was awarded to Jeremy T. Anderson and Pascal Henle (Australia) for Slow Sauna – Descent into Stillness, a proposal that transforms bathing into a contemplative journey through a sequence of descending spaces and atmospheric transitions. Third Prize went to Marty Ilievski and Clément Vignes (France) for their concept centered on the "fourfold ritual," integrating sauna, greenhouse, and elemental experiences within a unified environmental envelope. The Sustainability Award was presented to Jordan Paul Scheuermann (United States) for a proposal that reimagines the traditional Icelandic baðstofa through an environmentally responsive retreat combining wellness, food production, and passive climatic performance. Buildner congratulates all winners and participants for their creativity and dedication, and invites readers to explore the complete results, including the Honorable Mentions and Shortlisted Projects, on the Buildner website.
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1st and Student Prize
2nd Prize
3rd Prize
Buildner Sustainability Award
