KUBU DIY-Sauna
This is a process initiated by Andrew Gryf Paterson in cooperation with Tuomo Tammenpää, 29.5.–3.6.2026 and 3.–6.8.2026.
"Andrew Gryf Paterson will initiate an open knowledge ecosystem (Internet Archive, Creative Commons, Wikidata, Wikipedia) around Kulturhus Björkboda and surrounding partner organizations on Kimitoön. In 2026, the focus will begin with the island’s public saunas, their cultural heritage and online representation. This research will be paired with a DIY sauna workshop, where we will build a type of tent sauna based on Paterson’s ongoing experiments."
https://kubu.fi/project/kubu-sauna-workshop/
Artist-researcher talk - Open knowledge: Example of sauna culture
Thursday 6.8.2026 at 16.00-17.00 at Kulturhus Björkboda
Andrew Gryf Paterson presents the outcome of the KUBU DIY Sauna process, which introduces open knowledge and open culture with the example of bathing and sauna culture. It is not about which saunas are public or private, or about keeping the door open, but about how we remember and learn about the places and activities we value, and where that knowledge is kept online. Finnish sauna culture is recognised internationally and protected by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of Finland. How might it be heritage at risk?
The sauna in KUBU piha will be heated after the presentation, ready 17.30 NB: it will be mixed-gender. Bring a towel and bathing costume.
NB: See other activities same day via Facebook event
Presentation topic list:
- What is open knowledge?
- What is open culture?
- Tangible and intangible culture heritage
- Heritage-cycle
- Museums & heritage - National, local, digital gaps?
- Example of sauna culture (most people have experience of, both inter/national, local, specific)
- personal, public, service, tourism
- language, culture, practices, objects, structures (sauna buildings)
- Online knowledge and sharing
- SaunaAtlas (mapping all saunas, combination of private and public info)
- Finna, Wikimedia platforms & Commons (what is available in the commons)
- Heritage at risk (AI base for search, if local is not included?)
- Example: The Making of KUBU DIY Sauna
- personal→public (private, shared, community)
- ad-hoc design → shared open design
- Reminder of SaunaPäivä 700, 700+1 (19.8.2026)
The Making of KUBU DIY Sauna (Workshop I, May-June)
In the DIY Sauna workshop we build a stackable brick stove and frame for tarp. The design follows the example sauna in Kitchen Lab Tarvo in Helsinki. We study existing movable and temporary sauna solutions and ideate for improvements. The sauna is the next phase of the community facilities we are building around KUBU after the community greenhouse built in 2025.
The original schedule was as follows: Friday 30.5. 13-17 Pre-planning & material inventory; Saturday 30.5. 11-15 Site preparation, construction talkoo; Sunday 31.5. 11-17 Construction talkoo.
In actuality the work carried on in sporadic moments until Wednesday 3.6.
Visual documentation: The Making of KUBU DIY Sauna
Local Sauna heritage as Open Knowledge (Workshop II, August)
What knowledge is public about Finnish saunas? About Kimitoön/Kemiönsaari’s bathing and sauna culture? Who are the knowledge-holders in the local community again local sauna heritage? Where can you find this information? Are local public saunas represented on tourism websites or Wikipedia articles about the island? Are there any pictures of the public saunas shared to online commons-orientated websites? What are those? How can they be uploaded? Why is it important to do so? Why is it heritage at risk? Celebrate local public sauna culture inspired by UNESCO intangible cultural heritage status of Finnish Sauna.
You can contribute to gathering information about public sauna or bathing culture on Kimitoön/Kemiönsaari: By sending references or scans of newspaper articles, book pages extracts, archival or planning documents; learn how to upload your own photographs of Kimitoön/Kemiönsaari public sauna to Wikimedia Commons repository; how to add Wikidata item about a local public sauna.
Monday-Thursday 3.–6.8.2026 Book a session by contacting Andrew: agryfp@pm.me
Finna.fi
Examples: Sauna (all works) | Ria, används också som bastu. (1911–1914) | Saunarakennuksen suunnittelu Södersundvikin kulttuurimaisemaan
Wikipedia
Examples: Kuias (FI) | Bastu (SV) | Category:Saunas (EN)
Wikimedia Commons
Search terms: Finland bastu | Suomalainen sauna | Finnish sauna | Kimitoön | Kemiönsaari | Kimitoön bastu | Kulturhus Björkboda The Making of KUBU DIY Sauna
Examples: File:HAZELIUS(1881) Vol.1, Abb.70, p091.jpg | File:Mimmit kyyryssä.jpg |
Self-example: The Making of KUBU DIY Sauna [Category:Kulturhus Björkboda DIY Sauna]
One line description: EN: Photo documentation of making a DIY Sauna (smoke-tent-hybrid sauna) in late-May early-June 2026, at Kulturhus Björkboda, Kimitoön/Kemiönsaari, South-west Finland | SV: Fotodokumentation av att tillverka en gör-det-själv-bastu (röktält-hybridbastu) i slutet av maj-början av juni 2026 på Kulturhus Björkboda, Kimitoön/Kemiönsaari, Sydvästra Finland. | FI: Kuvadokumentaatio tee-se-itse-saunan (savuteltta-hybridisauna) tekemisestä toukokuun lopulla-kesäkuun alussa 2026 Kulturhus Björkbodassa, Kimitoön/Kemiönsaari, Varsinais-Suomi.
Wikidata
Example: Finnish sauna (Q1598293) | Rajaportti Sauna (Q7285757) |
Example: Search for Dalsbruk | Kulturhus Björkboda (Q140894933)
Wiktionary
Examples: Kiuas (FI) | Kiuas (SV) | Bastu (SV) | Sauna (EN)
Wikquote
Example: Sauna (FI) | Saun (EE)
References
Definition of Open: https://opendefinition.org/od/2.1/en/
"Open refers to a policy or practice that allows reuse and redistribution of materials for any purpose, including commercial. Prohibitions of commercial reuse disqualify a policy or practice from being characterized as open. A number of international initiatives rely on this meaning of open to define data reuse, including the Open Knowledge Foundation."
Open Culture Glossary: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Open_Culture/GLAM_Glossary/O#OpenGLAM_iniciative | https://openglam.pubpub.org/pub/the-glossary/release/1.
AvoinGLAM: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/AvoinGLAM
UNESCO Intagible Culture Heritage: Sauna culture in Finland (2020): https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/sauna-culture-in-finland-01596
English Heritage (2010): Making the past part of our future: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/eh-strategy-2005-2010/
Heritage Cycle (Thurley, 2005): https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Heritage-cycle-Thurley-2005_fig1_334024601
Elävä perintö: Sauna bathing (2020): https://wiki.aineetonkulttuuriperinto.fi/wiki/Sauna_bathing
Wiki Loves Living Heritage: Finnish Sauna: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Living_Heritage/Finnish_sauna
Open Heritage Statement (2026): https://openheritagestatement.org/statement [suomenkieli käänös .pdf] | https://creativecommons.org/project/open-heritage/
Renata Ávila & Amalia Toledo (2026): Knowledge as a Critical Infrastructure: https://blog.okfn.org/2026/04/10/knowledge-as-critical-digital-infrastructure-a-call-to-action-for-a-resilient-future/
Susanna Ånäs (2026): Oulu Löyly - Is the Sauna still hot?: https://www.okf.fi/2026/06/28/is-the-sauna-still-hot/
Saunapäivä on Kemiönsaari (9.6.2025, 19.8.2026): https://www.visitkimitoon.fi/fi/nae-ja-koe/tapahtumat/kemionsaari700/saunapaiva/ | At Söderlångvik kartano in 2026: https://soderlangvik.fi/fi/tapahtumat/saunapaiva/
SaunaAtlas (FI): https://saunaatlas.com/
Open Source Ecology (US): http://opensourceecology.org | wiki | https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Open_Source_Sauna
Open Source Sauna (DE): https://opensourcesauna.de/ | https://github.com/mailtosepp/OpenSourceSauna
Tuomo Tammenpää - 'Nuotio' (2021) generated audio file of crackling wood fire, released with CC license: https://soundcloud.com/kimitobo/nuotio-pixelache-burn-2021
BBC (2023): The 10,000 Year Origins of the Sauna and why it is still going strong: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231024-the-10000-year-origins-of-the-sauna-and-why-its-still-going-strong
Luis Velazquez, Sandra Villalba, Ricardo García and Nora Munguía (2019). Life Cycle Evaluation of Sustainable Practices in a Sauna Bath. Sustainability 11(20): https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205647
Oulu Sauna Festivaali (2026): https://kesansauna.fi/saunafestivaali/
Goodstories (AI generated search): Kemionsaari sauna: https://goodstories.fi/kemionsaari-sauna/
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