Socio-material assemblages in the production of public saunas as third places
| Socio-material elements | Holy place assemblage: peaceful and silent. Social interaction is guided by normative rules grounded in 'sauna etiquette’ | Democratic place assemblage: equal and respectful. Social interaction emerges differently according to fellow bathers | Experiential place assemblage: fun and inspiring. Social interaction is typically abundant, hilarious and loud |
|---|---|---|---|
| People show how a third place is connected to other people and what kind of social relations it concerns | Let’s respect the sauna peace, keep voices down, and share personal stories preferably in the fireplace room rather than on the sauna benches. Sauna is about silence, but it doesn’t mean complete silence. In a way, the sauna influences sauna-goers who are lost in their own thoughts and may not want to listen to loud conversations. So, let’s not disturb other sauna-bathers. We are all different and enjoy the sauna in our own way, which should be respected. (Magazine 1 / 2020) | For instance, I talked about divorce with a Colombian man here last autumn. A very interesting conversation. He’d just gotten divorced […] I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that the facade comes down there. No clothes. People are what they are, without extra identifying features. (Male I22) | Just drinking good wine or a cocktail alone isn’t necessarily an experience. You need other people there, and it becomes bigger with more people involved. Of course, it can be an experience alone too, but the more people you have, or good friends, with good drinks, good food, a nice environment, and scenery–many different elements–the more layers you have, the more experiential it becomes. (male, regular) |
| Spaces describes the contextual situations with which the assemblages are entwined with | Right near the centre of Helsinki is an old traditional Finnish building and a landscape that is always beautiful and calming. I experience it as a sensory-free place. All extra stimuli are stripped away: clothes, phones, makeup and jewellery. No one is recognisable, as everyone has the same green towels. (Magazine 1 / 2019) | You meet people from varied backgrounds in the Sauna association saunas. And you never know in advance what kind of conversation will emerge – there is both joy and deeper topics. That is one of the values of communal sauna experiences. (Magazine 2 / 2020) | It has a pretty big meaning in terms of the overall visit, how you enjoyed yourself. Especially if we go for entertainment purposes, we always check what the sauna facilities are like and that’s it, because that’s part of going out with friends to have fun. (Male I36) |
| Materials represent all the material elements and infrastructures connected to a third place | It must have a certain kind of style–both natural and a little bit, what’s the word, conservative. No garish tile walls or anything like that. Wood is the right material for a sauna. (Male I1) | Well, it should at least be airy–so that it’s easy to breathe in there. And I don’t think there should be anything artificial. I don’t like that kind of thing. It should be more neutral, in a certain kind of way. Maybe like a hut or a place of shelter and calm. Nothing too open. (Female I16) | This is a different kind of experience. It’s a more modern approach that includes some of the same elements, but you can’t really compare it directly to, say, a traditional cottage sauna. (male, regular) |
| Socio-material elements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| People show how a third place is connected to other people and what kind of social relations it concerns | Let’s respect the sauna peace, keep voices down, and share personal stories preferably in the fireplace room rather than on the sauna benches. Sauna is about silence, but it doesn’t mean complete silence. In a way, the sauna influences sauna-goers who are lost in their own thoughts and may not want to listen to loud conversations. So, let’s not disturb other sauna-bathers. We are all different and enjoy the sauna in our own way, which should be respected. (Magazine 1 / 2020) | For instance, I talked about divorce with a Colombian man here last autumn. A very interesting conversation. He’d just gotten divorced […] I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that the facade comes down there. No clothes. People are what they are, without extra identifying features. (Male I22) | Just drinking good wine or a cocktail alone isn’t necessarily an experience. You need other people there, and it becomes bigger with more people involved. Of course, it can be an experience alone too, but the more people you have, or good friends, with good drinks, good food, a nice environment, and scenery–many different elements–the more layers you have, the more experiential it becomes. (male, regular) |
| Spaces describes the contextual situations with which the assemblages are entwined with | Right near the centre of Helsinki is an old traditional Finnish building and a landscape that is always beautiful and calming. I experience it as a sensory-free place. All extra stimuli are stripped away: clothes, phones, makeup and jewellery. No one is recognisable, as everyone has the same green towels. (Magazine 1 / 2019) | You meet people from varied backgrounds in the Sauna association saunas. And you never know in advance what kind of conversation will emerge – there is both joy and deeper topics. That is one of the values of communal sauna experiences. (Magazine 2 / 2020) | It has a pretty big meaning in terms of the overall visit, how you enjoyed yourself. Especially if we go for entertainment purposes, we always check what the sauna facilities are like and that’s it, because that’s part of going out with friends to have fun. (Male I36) |
| Materials represent all the material elements and infrastructures connected to a third place | It must have a certain kind of style–both natural and a little bit, what’s the word, conservative. No garish tile walls or anything like that. Wood is the right material for a sauna. (Male I1) | Well, it should at least be airy–so that it’s easy to breathe in there. And I don’t think there should be anything artificial. I don’t like that kind of thing. It should be more neutral, in a certain kind of way. Maybe like a hut or a place of shelter and calm. Nothing too open. (Female I16) | This is a different kind of experience. It’s a more modern approach that includes some of the same elements, but you can’t really compare it directly to, say, a traditional cottage sauna. (male, regular) |