Iceland Slow Sauna
Iceland Slow Sauna is now open for entries!
The Iceland Slow Sauna competition, organiser by Buildner and recently opened for entries challenges architects to design retreat that unites a sauna and a green house into one seamless experience in the elemental landscape Lake Mývatn, North Iceland.
Short description
The Iceland Slow Sauna, international competition, recently opened for entries challenges architects to design retreat that unites a sauna and a green house into one seamless experience in the elemental landscape Lake Mývatn, North Iceland.
The sauna has always been more than a room of heat. It is a place of stillness, where the body slows, the breath deepens, and the mind begins to loosen. Architecture has the power to enrich this ritual — to frame silence, to choreograph the movement between warmth and air, to turn a simple act of sweating into a profound experience of presence. But what else belongs in this rhythm? How might architecture extend the ritual of renewal beyond the sauna itself?
In Iceland, the answer is often found in light and growth. At Lake Mývatn — a volcanic landscape of steam vents, moss, and silence — the forces of fire and fragility are always entwined. Here, a greenhouse is not just a space for cultivation, but a chamber of recovery, illumination, and life. To step from heat into green, from stone into glass, is to prolong the ritual: to rest, to breathe, to encounter warmth in another form. It is this dialogue — between fire and light, stone and plant — that gives the Iceland Slow Sauna its unique brief.
The assignment calls for a modest retreat that unites a sauna and a greenhouse into a single structure, a small architecture that is at once intimate and expansive. The challenge is not to build larger, but to build with sensitivity — to explore how transitions between hot and cool, enclosed and open, dark and bright can become a journey of their own. This competition asks architects to think not in terms of objects, but of experiences, rituals, and atmospheres.
This vision comes from Óli and Bianca, the couple behind Slow Travel Mývatn. Their philosophy is rooted in slowness, authenticity, and care for the land. With this competition, they seek proposals that mirror their way of life — spaces that are thoughtful, tactile, and attuned to both human presence and the Icelandic landscape. The Iceland Slow Sauna is not simply about constructing a building, but about designing a ritual of renewal, a rhythm between heat, light, and silence.
With this competition, they extend that same philosophy outward, seeking proposals that mirror their values: architecture that is thoughtful, tactile, and attuned to both human presence and the Icelandic landscape. The Iceland Slow Sauna is conceived not simply as a building beside Þúfa, but as a continuation of its spirit — a designed ritual of renewal that moves between heat, light, and silence, grounding human experience in the volcanic calm of Mývatn.
All information submitted by participants must be in English.
Winners will be announced on July 7, 2026.
Note! Registration Deadline is April 08, 2026 but you can submit your proposal until May 11, 2026.
Who may enter?
The competition is open to all. No professional qualification is required. Design proposals can be developed individually or by teams (4 team members maximum).
Prize:
3 winning proposals, 2 special award recipients and 6 honourable mentions will be selected. Buildner will award a total of 10,000 € in prize money to competition winners as follows:
➜ 1st Prize - 5,000 €
➜ 2nd Prize - 2,500 €
➜ 3rd Prize - 1,000 €
➜ + 6 honourable mentions
➜ Buildner Student Award - 1,000 €
➜ Buildner Sustainability Award - 500 €
Entry fees:
During the Early Bird registration period (06 Oct - 26 Nov) entry fee cost 110 €. After that period the amount of the fee will increase.
