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.

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