OCOTILLO SAUNA

A small retreat on a ridge in the Chihuahuan desert, built around three rituals: heat, cold water and the stars. The sauna is a weathered steel volume lined in oak, with a single low window that frames the mountains at eye level from the bench. The plunge is set into the ridge to keep its water cold, and the deck faces south toward the darkest part of the sky.

A weathered steel shell on a concrete base, lined with oak and insulated between. The plunge is cast concrete set into the rock, and the deck is concrete on grade with a low steel edge.

In the desert, heat is given. The design work lay in keeping the plunge cold through the day and in protecting the darkness at night, so every light on the site is low, warm and directed downward.

A ritual of heat and cold water, completed beneath a sky full of stars.