Oslo Works and the idea behind Hotspot

Oslo Works is a young Norwegian architecture studio founded in 2016, known for looking at projects through a life-cycle lens, where durability and long service life matter as much as the first impression. That mindset fits naturally with Hotspot, a compact communal sauna designed for Nesoddtangen, on the Nesodden peninsula just across the fjord from Oslo. It is a small building with a big job: make shared sauna culture feel intimate, social, and strongly connected to the landscape.

A sauna placed right on the edge

Hotspot is meant to sit close to the waterline, where the sea becomes part of the ritual. In the Nesoddtangen version, the sauna is positioned on smooth coastal rock and oriented toward the sunrise, with Oslo visible in the distance. The architecture leans into that horizon. Instead of treating the view as a bonus, the building frames it as the main event, turning the fjord into a constant backdrop for warming up, cooling down, and lingering.

Materials that age quietly

The structure is built in massive timber, used for walls, roof, and floor, creating a stable shell that handles heat and moisture well. Outside, the sauna is clad in pine shingles that are burned and oiled, a finish that reduces maintenance demands while adding a dark, weather-ready skin. The overall footprint is compact – about 16 m² – yet the material choices make it feel solid and permanent, even though the concept is designed to be movable if needed.

Two volumes, one simple route to the water

The layout is split into two parts with a narrow open passage between them that leads toward the bathing ladder and the fjord. One side holds practical spaces: small changing rooms and storage for the essentials. The other side is the hot room, shaped for togetherness, with a rounded back wall that encourages a more communal seating arrangement. A large glazed opening brings the outside in, so the experience stays visually connected to the shoreline and the city skyline beyond.

A flexible concept, not just a one-off cabin

Hotspot is also presented as a base module that can grow. Add-ons can extend the experience without changing the core idea: options include a diving board, a larger changing area with or without a shower, terraces, roof elements, solar panels, and even a floating dock. Multiple Hotspots can also be linked into a row, turning a single sauna into a small waterfront cluster. The result is a straightforward, timber-first sauna that treats community, scenery, and longevity as the main design features – not afterthoughts.

Architects: Oslo Works
Photography: Marte Garmann