"The festival is the brainchild of global spa group Therme which is planning bathing complexes in Washington, Manchester, Dubai and beyond. Its aim, says Therme US president Robert Hammond, is 'to reframe bathing as a collective cultural experience rather than as a personalized wellness retreat.'"
"In New York especially bathing has always been communal and cultural - from Jewish schvitzes to Russian banyas to the Korean spas. But a new generation of bathhouses, incorporating elevated design, thoughtful sound and lighting, guided rituals and hospitality that feels more aligned to boutique hotels is reworking traditions of old for new audiences."
"Hammond has form when it comes to cultural interventions in New York; he made the High Line happen, and with Culture of Bathe-ing hopes to bring the cultures of midwestern sauna communities, New York bathhouses and Californian counter-culture together under one roof."
Culture of Bathe-ing, New York's first sauna festival, took place in Brooklyn's Domino Park featuring 15 mobile saunas in various forms including Airstreams, shipping containers, and barrels. The festival was created by global spa group Therme, led by Robert Hammond, who previously developed the High Line. The initiative aims to reframe bathing as a collective cultural experience rather than individual wellness retreats. New York has a rich bathing heritage spanning Jewish schvitzes, Russian banyas, and Korean spas. Contemporary bathhouses now incorporate elevated design, thoughtful sound and lighting, guided rituals, and boutique hotel-style hospitality, modernizing traditional bathing practices for new audiences.
#sauna-festival #communal-bathing-culture #wellness-design #new-york-bathhouses #cultural-experience
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