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RESEARCH:
10+ YEARS OF GLOBAL HEAT STUDY
2015 >
Exploring Bathing Cultures Around the World
Research chapters so far:

→ Thailand & Japan: Jungle steam and city silence
→ New York City: Sweat and the city: Russian & Turkish baths
→ Turkey, Hungary & Central Asia: Stone, marble floors and Soviet tiles
→ Morocco: Steam & sisterhood: inside the hammam
→ Iceland, Finland & Sweden: The Nordic bathing code

More articles:

→ Mapping Japanese sauna culture & bathing heritage for the last 3 years

As part of my ongoing research, I’m exploring bathing cultures around the world through personal journeys, conversations and first-hand experiences, from North America, Asia and North Africa to the different bathing traditions of Europe. Each place offers something unique, yet there are striking connections: spaces where things slow down, routines shift and time seems to pause.

I document these encounters through a series of short chapters, using travel not simply as a collection of stories, but as a way to observe, compare and reflect. Many of the insights feed directly into The Global Heat Research, becoming questions, references and lessons gathered through heat, water and stillness.

Across 14+ countries and cultures, a few themes continue to emerge: reclaiming time and care, being together differently, the rhythm of heat and cold, traditions passed between generations, and the role of bathing in both physical and mental wellbeing. The spaces themselves also tell stories, revealing what different cultures value through their architecture, rituals, social codes and ways of hosting.

This research is ongoing. Each new place adds another perspective to an evolving understanding of why people seek out heat, water, stillness and one another, and how these experiences can inform the way we design and create bathing spaces today.

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