POLAR BEAR SAUNA
TYPE: UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL
YEAR: 2023-PRESENT
In this proposal, the vacant polar bear enclosure in Stanley Park would be converted to a Nordic-style, public sauna. Borrowing from various sauna cultures around the world, this complex would become a public place for people to congregate, socialize and rest; especially in the wet winter months when social interaction is in short supply.
Visualizations by Miguel Orellana.
IMAGINE DIPPING INTO A COLD PLUNGE WHERE, ONLY A FEW DECADES AGO, CAPTIVE POLAR BEARS SWAM.
The site's complicated history would make this sauna unlike any other in the world. It would re-engage a corner of the park that has been off-limits while adding to the diversity of activities that make Stanley Park so vital in the first place.