Koto cabins

Continuing our series of Creative collaborations, we shift focus to the crafting of our bespoke timber sauna cabin. This time its an all-Ulster collaboration involving Koto Cabins, Kudos Building, McNutts and Green Roofs Ireland.

Rituals are an important part of the total experience at Breac.House. When designing an outdoor sauna for guests we wanted to remain true to the traditional origins of the experience, while ensuring the design was in keeping with the contemporary style of the main house. This is where we found a great partner in Koto Cabins, whose ethos of sustainability, contemporary Scandinavian design and material quality perfectly matched our own.

Our design and choice of materials was inspired by the ancient Celtic "sweat houses" which were once common in this region. As would have been the case for our ancestors, the building is made using wood and stone - with a grass roof. It is heated using a wood fired stove and the floor is stone - maximising heat retention. As was also the case with the ancient "sweat houses", it is cited in an elevated position with a window to take in the view (or to let out smoke in the days before chimneys) and it uses a local water-source to create internal humidity.

The cabin was built in timber frame by the very expert team at Building Kudos in Belfast. As specialists in building high performance, low energy buildings they were the perfect choice for this unique building. The cabin was built entirely offsite and delivered by crane - a highly efficient means of construction.

To compliment the experience, we collaborated with our nearby linen and tweed weavers, McNutt of Downings. Taking inspiration from the colours of the local quartzite stone and abundant gorse flowers, they created bespoke linen towels for our guests to enjoy during and after their sauna. Linen is itself a very ancient product and Ulster linen in particular is world famous for its quality and durability.

To top it off, the grass roof was grown by the sea in Co. Antrim and supplied by Green Roofs Ireland.

To see more of their amazing designs, check out Koto Cabins

For quality timber framed home building in Ireland, see Kudos

To see McNutt of Downings beautiful range of linen and tweed, check out McNutt of Donegal

If you are in the market for a green roof, look no further than Green Roofs Ireland