The Thermory Design Awards Put Sauna Builders in Dezeen. Entries Close September 30.

The Thermory Design Awards are accepting submissions for 2026. The deadline is September 30. Winners will be announced in November and featured in Dezeen, the architecture and design publication.

For sauna builders and designers working with Thermory wood, a win means coverage in Dezeen.

Four categories, projects from the last three years

Thermory, the Estonian thermally modified wood manufacturer, launched the Design Awards in 2022 as part of its 25th anniversary. The program recognizes architects, developers, and distributors whose projects use Thermory products and, in the company’s words, “leave a lasting impact.”

The 2026 competition has four categories: Tiny & Private House, Residential/Commercial/Public Building, Interior, and Wellness & Spa. Projects must have been completed within the last three years, must use Thermory wood, and cannot have been submitted in a previous year. The program is open to architects, developers, and Thermory distributors worldwide.

The jury for 2026 will be announced in August. Previous panels have included practicing architects from Italy, Finland, and Estonia alongside Thermory’s own sales and R&D leadership.

Four years of sauna winners

The sauna and wellness category has been part of the Thermory Design Awards since the program launched. Every year, a different design team has won it, though Slovak builder Woodmaster built three of the four winners.

2022: Pixxla Sauna (Slovakia). Designed by Pixxla and built by Woodmaster, this unconventional sauna was the inaugural winner. The jury cited its “interesting cladding solutions” and noted that the practical functionality of the compact space had not been sacrificed for aesthetics. Thermory alder bench boards and thermowood spruce cladding.

2023: Sauna on Wheels (Slovakia). Designed by Woven and constructed by Woodmaster, this mobile sauna was built to attach to a standard trailer. Thermory called it “unexpected, fun, and playfully designed.” Dezeen covered the 2023 winners that November, putting the wagon-style sauna in front of the publication’s global audience of architects and designers.

2024: Sauna in the Forest (Slovakia). Architect Jurij Cernak of APEX A designed this cedar-clad forest sauna, again built by Woodmaster SK, with a fully glazed wall opening to the surrounding woods and Thermory alder SHP benches inside. The jury praised its “embrace of simplicity.” Dezeen featured all four 2024 category winners.

2025: Baltimore Ravens Under Armour Performance Center (USA). The award crossed the Atlantic for the first time. ZGF Architects designed the sauna and wellness spaces inside the NFL franchise’s renovated training facility, known as “the Castle.” Thermory Thermo-Magnolia was used in custom ceiling profiles and sauna bench applications. The jury described the result as “immersive and sensory,” with “clean, refined detailing” and “beautiful use of natural light.” SaunaNews covered the Ravens installation when it opened in late 2025.

Winners outside the sauna category

Other category winners include:

• 2022 Grand Prix: Emily Hotel Lobby & Terra Restaurant (YOD Group, Ukraine), using Thermory Drift cladding.
• 2022 Public Building: Powerhouse (Snohetta, Norway), an energy-positive building clad in Thermory Benchmark thermo-pine.
• 2023 Public Building: Pelgulinna High School (Arhitekt Must, Estonia), the largest wooden structure in Estonia at the time, with 85% of its supporting framework in wood.
• 2024 Public Building: Centro Arte Moderna Gulbenkian (Kengo Kuma & Associates, Lisbon), a thermo-ash canopy for one of Portugal’s leading contemporary art museums.
• 2024 Interior: Tallinn Airport Business Lounge (KAMP Arhitektid, Estonia), which the jury called “a beautifully designed business card for Estonia.”
• 2025 Public Building: Vosu Primary School and Kindergarten (3+1 Architects, Lahemaa, Estonia), combining CLT, glulam, and Thermory thermo-pine across facades and terraces.

Submissions have grown from 43 nominations in the inaugural year to 74 from 21 countries in 2025. The geographic spread keeps widening: the Hatchway Home (AtelierCHALK, California) won Best Private House in 2024, and the Ravens project brought the sauna award to the United States for the first time in 2025.

Many sauna builders already qualify

Many commercial sauna builders in North America and Europe are already using thermally modified wood, and a significant share of that wood comes from Thermory. The company, which recently named Cristian de Rosa CEO of its US operations, supplies thermo-ash, thermo-pine, thermo-magnolia, and alder products that are standard specifications in sauna builds. That means many builders reading this are already eligible.

The prize is a feature in Dezeen, which reaches architects and designers who specify materials for hospitality, wellness, and residential projects.

The judging criteria are sustainability, creativity, and functionality. Past sauna winners range from a compact mobile unit on a trailer to an NFL performance center. The jury has rewarded simplicity as readily as scale.

Entry requires completed project photos, a description of the brief and why Thermory materials were chosen, and up to five reasons why the project should win.