At the heart of Europe’s first Climate Action Park stands Crystal Sauna, a building designed by artistic studio Bigert & Bergström. The installation and the Wasteland site in Skellefteå try to reconnect past and future after almost two decades of soil remediation.
Although Sweden is generally known for its natural beauty, some of the country was – and still is in some cases – a little less picture-perfect. Ursviken, just outside Skellefteå in northern Sweden, is one of those. After decades of heavy industrial activity, the site has been undergoing soil remediation to make it accessible to the public.
After seventeen years, those works have come to an end. On the former industrial grounds now stands Wasteland, dubbed Europe’s first Climate Action Park. The publicly accessible park is being marketed as a new destination for art, movement, and sauna culture.
The main on-site attraction is called Crystal Sauna and was designed by art studio Bigert & Bergström. As the name suggests, the building directly refers to the shape of a crystal. The reason why Bigert & Bergström opted specifically for a lithium crystal is twofold.
“Lithium interested us because it has become an emblem of the green transition. It is associated with batteries, electrification and a fossil-fuel-free future, but its extraction can also create serious environmental damage. That contradiction felt highly relevant in Skellefteå,” the duo told design magazine Dezeen.
The Lithium Crystal Sauna was meant to capture the park’s core idea: ‘From Waste to Promise’. According to the artists, the installation connects past, present, and future.
“In this evolving landscape, where art, science, and public life meet, Lithium Crystal Sauna becomes more than an artwork: it is a destination, a gathering point, and a powerful symbol of transformation and future-making,” Bigert & Bergström explain.
In order to obtain the pink, mirror-like texture, the artists used stainless steel coated in titanium. The 280 prisms of the structure were cut using CNC machines and laser technology. As the crystals lean back at an angle of four degrees, they look like they are emerging from the ground.
The inside of the sauna, however, could not be more different from the exterior. Here, wood stands center-stage, interrupted only by 260 kilograms of olivine stones inside a metal cage. While the floor was made from local moisture-resistant heartwood pine, the benches consist of alder. A custom battery-operated heater provides the electricity that is necessary to heat the sauna.
Although the Wasteland park and most of its installations (including an observation tower by the Oslo School of Architecture and Design) are freely accessible, those who want to visit the Crystal Sauna will have to book their visit. The building allows for a maximum of 12 people at a time and costs 1,000 SEK (€91) for a two-hour session. Upon arrival, guest will be met by two hosts who will provide a brief tour of the area and inform them of the rules and practical information.
