How did Bike sauna come to existence?

Source
H3T Architekti
Publisher
Tisková zpráva
05.06.2011 10:30
Vít Šimek
Štěpán Řehoř
Matěj Velek
H3T Architekti

The idea of creating a Bike sauna for city bikers came out spontaneously last year at a Christmas party of bike servicing outfit Bajkazyl at Rašínovo nábřeží. For that occasion we brought our older concept – sauna on wheels that can be dragged behind a car. That evening our sauna went through serious testing by more than 40 people. Everyone liked the concept very much, it was perhaps its greatest success yet. But we couldn't ignore many calls for sauna that could be dragged behind a bicycle.
After lengthy period of phone and email exchanges with cycling supporters and patrons, during which it seemed the idea was almost bound to fail, we have finally managed to draft a budget and set up a deadline for completion. Our sauna was supposed to be finished in two weeks for the occasion of Prague Critical Mass bike ride which should have culminated in sauna event at Vltava river bank.
For some time we were in fact not sure about our ability to finish in time. We were also worried that the limited funds we received were not enough even just for buying materials necessary. Also some non-standard parts were to be manufactured specially for this project. We knew in advance our work would not be paid for, not mentioning the design. Despite all that our final decision was to create this sauna no matter what. We have received first payment about one week before the deadline so the time schedule was very tight. As a result we couldn't have tested the sauna ourselves. What is more we weren't able to be present at its maiden ride because we were all busy working on another project in Berlin. Therefore we were quite worried about the outcome of its premiere. The night after the Critical Mass bike ride we learned that the first ride was a success and that people enjoyed it very much.
Subsequently we have finished everything we didn't manage earlier but some improvements are still awaiting us. This sauna is a prototype and it serves as a platform for testing our ideas. It is clear that designing and manufacturing of the sauna was an unforgettable experience for us - and perhaps not only for us. The result of this effort is something truly unique.
In the meantime our sauna has traveled around the Czech Republic. It has been a part of carnival parade and it has been seen by many in reality or on photographs that are available on the Internet. It has also taken part in exhibition Velocypedie at National technical library. To our surprise the sauna also made it to foreign magazines concerned with cycling and city transportation. In near future it is about to appear in a book dedicated to mobile saunas, which is going to be published by our Canadian colleagues.
These days Bike sauna is stationed at Bajkazyl workshop at MeetFactory, Smíchov. You can rent it there, just contact the workshop staff. The river is near!

We wish you many great experiences with our sauna, H3T architects.
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