Words by HB Mertz, Founder of Harbor Saunas
Few places exist that have provided me inspiration quite like coastal Maine. There's something deeply unique and timeless that's hard to put into words until you experience this region. The quiet combination of the landscapes, architecture, the maritime heritage is translated into something that continues to draw me back.
After a recent installation along the coast, I took the opportunity to stay several extra days, heading towards the Midcoast and Acadia. Wanting a rather simple experience that captured summer in Maine, we found ourselves staying lakeside in a traditional home built well over a century ago.
The house, clad in silvered cedar shakes, overlooked a dock that reached out toward the center of the water and a weathered boathouse set along the shore. But it was the sauna, set back within the trees, that seemed to tie it all together.
The sauna itself was simple: an old heater, worn-in cedar on the inside and a window used for ventilation. It can be tempting to overthink sauna builds at times, but this was proof that even in its most elemental form, it was about the practice - one that has been shared for centuries and feels the same, no matter how it's built.
Between sessions, I'd find my way down to the lake just steps away, accessed by a carefully placed pathway made of old field stone. That rhythm - sauna, cold plunge, rest - quickly became the framework for the day.
"When we started building Harbor, it was these moments, these working coastal buildings, these landscapes that provided the foundation for what we wanted to capture within a sauna experience."
Inside the sauna, I found myself reflecting on what we've been carefully building over the last year at Harbor. Remembering why we’re building what we’re building.
Beyond designing saunas that capture the visual form and materiality of these coastal buildings, we're capturing an experience and a story. The essence of these timeless structures. That feeling of being surrounded by the landscape around you. The simple moments of silence found within the sauna.
When we started building Harbor, it was these moments, these working coastal buildings, these landscapes that provided the foundation for what we wanted to capture within a sauna experience. Our goal was to design saunas that could age with the same intention. Structures that would sit quietly within the landscape, built to last for decades.
Our saunas are built by hand using time-honored materials and technique, paired with a modern design approach, and the result is a structure that captures the very same sentiment of these coastal buildings. One that’s designed to be used, weather slowly, to settle into its environment, and to feel natural within it.
This sauna experience on the lake in Maine was simple, but reminded me about what we’re doing at Harbor - building something that will withstand the test of time.
Just as the practice of sauna has been passed down for centuries, we believe these structures we build should carry that same sentiment - that they should get better with time. And, the experience within remains preserved, simple, and restorative.
