Saunas & cold plunges in Rebero

Building on a ridge

A cabin here sits on galvanised steel posts bolted into the stone retaining wall, with the floor frame levelled above the fall. Nothing new is cut into the terrace, no load is added to a wall that is already holding the garden, and water runs underneath instead of through.

We set the corner of the cabin at the edge of the terrace so the glass frames the city, and put the plunge behind it where the ground is wider. It is the reverse of the usual layout and it is what the site asks for.

Getting materials down

The lanes are steep, narrow and red. A flatbed parks at the nearest turning point and the crew walks panels down, often in the early morning before the surface softens. In the rainy seasons we schedule deliveries for the dry half of the day and accept that some weeks we lose an afternoon.

The frame around the view

Two glass walls meeting at an open corner, with no post, is the detail that sells this neighbourhood — the city lights sit in the corner of your eye while you are on the bench. It costs more in structure and in heater capacity, and on this ridge it is worth it.