Proper celebrations can often be exhausting and require a decent recovery plan, equally important as the party itself. Luckily, there are certain encounters between pristine nature and clever design that seem to be destined for an other-worldly retreat experience. Perched at the north-west edge of an island in the Georgian Bay area of Ontario, Grotto sauna, designed by Toronto based practice Partisans, translates the site’s natural conformation into a formal architectural exercise. On the outside a sleek, rectangular shape suspended on water, on the inside, Grotto is “visceral, warm, and sculptural,” says Josephson, one of the firm’s two founding partners. “We wanted to design a building that would transport the visitor into another world… like a grotto. The clients told us that each time they enter it, it’s almost as if they’re rediscovering the space for the first time.” Secluded and private, yet in touch with its surroundings, Grotto sauna is the perfect after-party retreat.
