Scandinavia House

See a panel on how American cities can take inspiration from Europe’s sauna movement to embed community health and wellbeing into the heart of public spaces! In this event held in honor of National Sauna Week at Scandinavia House on February 12, 2026, Therme Group US’ Adam Bamba Tanaka moderated a talk with Ragna Marie Fjeld, general manager of Oslo Sauna Association (Oslo Badstuforening) and one of the pioneers of Norway’s nonprofit sauna movement; Mikkel Aaland, a photographer/filmmaker/author and an internationally known expert on bathing culture; and Emily Weidenhof, Assistant Commissioner of Public Realm at NYC DOT. Across European cities — from London to Oslo and beyond — a rapidly growing nonprofit sauna movement is charting a dynamic new model of public health infrastructure: low-priced, high-design public saunas located along waterfronts, rooftops, and public parks. At the center of the story is the Oslo Sauna Association (Oslo Badstuforening), a nonprofit that operates over 25 floating saunas across the Norwegian capital. Supported by a grassroots volunteer operation, these saunas have become beloved pieces of civic infrastructure, social lifelines for a city with long winters and a high proportion of residents who live alone. In 2025, the Oslo Badstuforening was recognized by Time magazine as one of the World’s Great Places. Drawing on Oslo’s experience, the panel examined how creative activation of public spaces for community health can support physical and mental wellbeing, strengthen social ties, and make cities more livable year-round. The conversation also explored governance and business models, from nonprofit and volunteer-led operations to cooperatives – and what it takes to adapt these approaches to the U.S. context, particularly given rapid growth of the commercial sauna market. Learn more about programming at Scandinavia House at: https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/ #saunaculture #saunalife #sauna

See a talk with Finlandia Foundation’s Lecturer of the Year Eero Kilpi on advancing sauna culture and Finnish tradition in North America and beyond! Kilpi's lecture “Sauna Lost in Translation: Restoring Finnishness to a Global Tradition,” held at Scandinavia House on January 20, 2026, traces the evolution of global sweat bathing cultures—from Lakota sweat lodges to early Nordic sauna—and examines how Finnish traditions can reclaim their central role in today’s rapidly expanding sauna movement. Drawing on two decades of work with the North American Sauna Society, Eero unpacks what happened when the ancient Finnish practice arrived in North America and morphed into what he calls the “hotbox phenomenon.” He explains how a wellness trend focused on heat, hardware, and health fads often stripped sauna of its spirit, ritual, and deeper mental-emotional benefits. With humor, clarity, and lived experience as a Finn who has spent more than half his life in North America, Eero offers “hot takes” on where sauna culture went astray—and how returning to traditional principles can restore its meaning. He argues that when we root the practice in its cultural and spiritual foundations, everyone can experience the most authentic and profoundly restorative sauna possible. Learn more about programs at Scandinavia House at: https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/ #sauna #saunabenefits #saunaculture

See a discussion about the experiences of unemployment in social democratic welfare systems—and the lessons they offer to other systems—with Kelly McKowen and Ellen Cushing! In this discussion on January 29 at Scandinavia House, cultural anthropologist & ASF Fellow Kelly McKowen was joined by writer Ellen Cushing (The Atlantic) to discuss the research behind his forthcoming book "Down and Out in Utopia: Unemployment as Moral Education in Norway." Though both Norway and the United States measure unemployment rates, McKowen argues, the everyday experience of unemployment is very different in a society with a social democratic welfare system, and so too are the lessons that being unemployed teaches people about government, work, welfare, taxes, freedom, and belonging. Based on more than a year of fieldwork among a diverse cast of unemployed in Oslo, "Down and Out in Utopia" offers unparalleled insight into life without work in one of the world’s wealthiest and most egalitarian countries. Learn more about programs at Scandinavia House at: https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/ #oslo #socialdemocracy #unemployment

On January 14, 2026, the makers of the Oscar-nominated Norwegian film SENTIMENTAL VALUE joined us for a special film panel: director Joachim Trier and actors Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning, moderated by Amy Ryan. Beginning from Joachim Trier's richly rendered, intimate scope of the film — inspired by his own upbringing in a family of filmmakers — the panelists explored the film's fraught family dynamics and intergenerational trauma, drawing from their personal backgrounds and strong relationships with their co-stars. They also discussed the film's subversion of Norwegian and American cultural pitfalls; its balancing act of grief and humor; and the state of "human stories" in modern filmmaking. Learn more about programming at Scandinavia House at https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/ #sentimentalvalue #oscars2026 #joachimtrier

Se a panel on "Nordic in NYC, Established and New(er)" in the ASF series "Nordic American Connections: Conversations on Architecture and Design. Held at Scandinavia House on January 15, 2026, the panel featured Steven Holl of STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS; Matthew Lister, Managing Director at Gehl Americas; and Anne-Rachel Schiffmann, Architect and Interior Architecture Discipline Director out of Snøhetta’s New York office; with moderator Susan Chin. Organized by ASF with Susan Chin of DesignConnects, in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects New York, and American Institute of Architects Continental Europe, Nordic American Connections: Conversations on Architecture and Design is a four-part series that presents prominent architects, critics and scholars to reflect on Scandinavian and Nordic design’s enduring impact in shaping modern American design since the 19th century. With renewed interest in the Nordic tradition and its resilient building strategies for climate action and wellbeing, contemporary architects and designers, both Nordic and American, remain strong contributors to the American landscape with award-winning projects reflecting cross cultural influences. The panel highlights leading architecture and design firms in New York City, representing a unique vision while sharing a commitment to values that guide contemporary architecture. These firms embody the continuing influence of Nordic design principles—centering human comfort, social equity and welfare, environmental responsibility, natural material and handcraft—within a global context. "Nordic American Connections" is presented in coordination with the 25th Anniversary of Scandinavia House, alongside other programs in 2025-26. The series opened with the panel "Nordic Influences in America, the Last 25 Years" on November 18, 2025 and continues with "Women in Nordic Architecture, Crafts Meets Design" (March 19, 2026) and "Next in Nordic American Architecture: Resilience Meets Wellbeing" (May 14, 2026). Learn more about programming at Scandinavia House at https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/ #architecture #architecturaldesign

Se a panel on "Nordic Influences in America, The Last 25 Years" in the ASF series "Nordic American Connections: Conversations on Architecture and Design. Held at Scandinavia House on November 18, 2025, the panel featured architectural historian and urbanist Rosalie Genevro as moderator, with Peter MacKeith, dean of Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas; Thomas Phifer, founding partner of Thomas Phifer and Partners; and Tod Williams, co-founder of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners. Organized by ASF with Susan Chin of DesignConnects, in collaboration with the American Institute of Architects New York, and American Institute of Architects Continental Europe, Nordic American Connections: Conversations on Architecture and Design is a four-part series that presents prominent architects, critics and scholars to reflect on Scandinavian and Nordic design’s enduring impact in shaping modern American design since the 19th century. With renewed interest in the Nordic tradition and its resilient building strategies for climate action and wellbeing, contemporary architects and designers, both Nordic and American, remain strong contributors to the American landscape with award-winning projects reflecting cross cultural influences. The panel focused on the historical perspective on the Nordic design approach and emphasis on ‘complete design’—human comfort, social equity and welfare, environmental responsibility, natural material and handcraft–and ties to the Homeland: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden. Most importantly, the panel highlights Nordic design’s pivotal role in Modernism in America. "Nordic American Connections" is presented in coordination with the 25th Anniversary of Scandinavia House, alongside other programs in 2025-26. The opening panel will be followed by the panel "Nordic in New York City, Established and New(er)" (January 15, 2026); "Women in Nordic Architecture, Crafts Meets Design" (March 19, 2026); and "Next in Nordic American Architecture: Resilience Meets Wellbeing" (May 14, 2026). Learn more about programming at Scandinavia House at https://www.scandinaviahouse.org/ #architecture #architecturaldesign