Utopic: Bergen’s unique community space combines sauna, swimming and culture

With a people-centred approach, creative architecture firm Utopic is devoted to making inclusive social spaces through beautiful architecture and direct co-creation. Powered by local enthusiasts, the idealistic Laugaren project provides Bergen with a health and culture-focused community space that has transformed the neighbourhood’s seafront.

Taking advantage of the city’s location in the heart of Fjord Norway, Bergen Laugarlag is a volunteer association dedicated to making the city’s beautiful waterfront accessible. Bjørnar Skaar Haveland, the organisation’s leader and also CEO of Utopic, initially envisioned the building of the sauna as a small guerilla project utilising leftover building materials, but quickly realised it had the potential to be much more.

Through a series of workshops, the idea garnered overwhelming engagement. Its potential to bring people together and connect Bergen’s inhabitants to the experiences of the fjord on their doorstep was clear, and the project’s ambitions increased to become a cathedral for swimming. The group managed to raise money to build Laugaren – an innovative floating building consisting of a sauna, social space, changing room, indoor plunge pool, and a jetty leading into the water.

User participation, co-creation, and communal collaboration were cornerstones of the project’s development. Most of the volunteers who built the 72-square metre sauna were amateurs who learnt building techniques along the way. “Working on a site with people who will be using it is invaluable – it creates connection and builds a bridge between design and practical use,” Skaar Haveland explains.

Taking its moniker from the old Norse word lauge, meaning to bathe or wash, Laugaren is a non-commercial project aiming to promote the joy of bathing and providing a social meeting place and cultural arena. Run by over 100 dedicated volunteers, Laugaren’s low pricing ensures accessibility, and the team organises winter swimming courses alongside a range of cultural events in one of the city’s coolest spaces.

Laugaren’s distinctive architecture, featuring tall, arched wooden beams and large glass surfaces offering spectacular views of the surrounding landscape, contributes to its distinctive feel. Built using sustainable, locally sourced materials, it has received plenty of praise, been named Sauna of the Year 2024 and won the prestigious DOGA award for outstanding use of design and architecture.

People should be in focus, Skaar Haveland believes, for small or large-scale projects. “What we as architects create only holds value when it’s suitable for users, and it holds the most value when it’s created alongside other people,” he says. “At Utopic, our goal is to contribute to healthy, vibrant local communities.”

A recently established architecture firm, Utopic mainly focuses on small-scale architecture. An exciting New York-based sauna project is underway and due to be unveiled next summer. Skaar Haveland also serves as General Secretary of Europan Norway, a network and biennial competition for young architects to develop innovative strategies and solutions for transforming urban spaces across European cities.

utopic.no
www.laugaren.no