Oslo’s floating aluminium sauna featured in TIME’s annual list of the World's Greatest Places

The flagship of the Oslo Sauna Association’s fleet of floating saunas features an innovative façade made of recycled aluminium from Hydro. It has now won recognition as one of the world’s top hotspots in TIME’s annual travel guide.

Image source: Hydro

‘Trosten’ is the association’s largest and most ambitious sauna to date, launched in 2024 through a close collaboration with Spanish architects eStudio Herreros, and aluminium and renewable energy company Hydro. In the latest update of TIME’s annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, the eye catching and universally accessible sauna has been included as one of 100 establishments worldwide offering visitors an extraordinary experience unlike any other.

“For 120 years, we have been working to bring life to local communities. We are proud to have been part of this bold project that combines world class architecture and technical innovation with an uncompromising approach to sustainability and social inclusion. A place on TIME’s list is a fantastic recognition of a project that pretty much sums up our company values of Care, Courage and Collaboration,” says Hanne Simensen, Executive Vice President of Hydro Aluminium Metal.

The sauna’s exterior is made of Hydro CIRCAL, Hydro’s premium recycled aluminium which contains minimum 75 percent post-consumer scrap. Originally used in a lorry drop side system, the extruded and anodized façade profiles now showcase a successful collaboration between experts from estudio Herreros and Hydro to develop the best technical and architectural solutions in support of the project’s overarching philosophy.

Since its establishment in 2016, the Oslo Sauna Association has turned up the heat in Norway’s capital with its rapidly expanding fleet of floating saunas. Trosten’s main attribute is its universal design with ramps and spacious interiors that make it accessible for people of all abilities. It can accommodate two wheelchairs.

“Our vision is to provide saunas to the people, regardless of ability, and this sauna is warm and welcoming for everyone. In these times of international tension and a sense of crisis, we need warm saunas as meeting places more than ever. Therefore, it is especially fitting that TIME has Trosten on its list this year,” says Ragna Fjeld, Secretary General of the Oslo Sauna Association.

About Trosten

Trosten is the first universally designed floating sauna in Oslo with room for 24 people and two wheelchairs, as well as an external amphitheater for 50 people. Trosten was designed by the Munch Museum architects eStudio Herreros, with innovative façade panels in recycled aluminium supplied by Hydro. The sauna is constructed throughout from recycled and environmentally friendly materials. 

Oslo Sauna Association (Oslo Badstuforening) was founded in 2016 by anarchists and ice bathing diplomats from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It started with one sauna built from driftwood, the iconic “Måken.” Sauna number two, the architect designed “Skarven,” was completed in 2018. Trosten is the association's nineteenth sauna. The association has five locations, the two largest being Sukkerbiten and Langkaia in Bjørvika, with 15,000 members and 250,000 visits in 2023.

Note: This article has been issued by Hydro and has been published by AL Circle in its original form without any modifications or edits.