Alpine Sauna at Whitecap Lodge

Whitecap Alpine is a backcountry skiing and hiking lodge located near Whistler, Canada. We recently constructed an alpine sauna, perched on a large boulder within a glacial lake at over 6000ft. Our aim is to make it a stop on many of our guided hikes. The inspiration for the sauna was the surrounding landscape. it needed to blend in and enhance the natural world around it, rather than distract from it. The intent was to blend the building with the boulder that acts as its foundation. The eye is allowed to pass right through the building and have an unobstructed view of the vistas across the valley. We chose to side the building inside and out with cedar, both for durability, but also to represent the cedar tree so prevalent in our mountain forests, and as the building ages the cedar will grey and help the building to blend in more as it ages