A smoke sauna is built from local timber for the Craft Museum of Finland exhibition

The central theme of the sauna installation is contrast, where the large becomes small and the millimetre-precise craftsmanship of log carving is brought into focus. The exhibition will be on display from 30 May to 23 August 2026, with free admission.

“I fell the trees, carve the frame, and create the details. The result is a smoke sauna inspired by both Karelia and Japan with Karelian spruce, pine, aspen, alder, birch, as well as oak from the Archipelago Sea, ash and juniper,” Sami Repo describes.

All timber used in the exhibition sauna comes from Repo’s own nearby forests. Generally, the wood had already been dead or damaged, yet it is every bit as high-quality as freshly felled timber.

The sauna contains contrasts ranging from 50-centimetre log timbers to a door handle made from birch bark. The walls feature shingles crafted from different tree species, and all the wood is untreated, pure natural timber. Different joints can be seen in the corners of the sauna, beautifully demonstrating the distinctions between the wood species, not only aesthetically but also materially.

Visitors will not be able to experience löyly (steam) from the benches of this sauna, but this symbol of Finnish culture brings together the many possibilities of logs and wood, along with traditions of timber construction from both Finland and further afield.

One part of the exhibition is a photographic narrative documenting the creation of the sauna installation inside the museum, as well as a unique single-edition book shot on film.