About this project
If you've ever been to a day spa and thought it wasn't for you, we want to introduce you to SOAK, an ecological bathhouse that tells a different side of the wellness story. Sometimes we call it The Anti-Spa. Because at SOAK, there are no silence gongs. It's a place to soak, unwind, detox, and relax all without cucumber eye pads.
Our goal is to reclaim everyday wellness and put it squarely back in the hands of Healthy Hedonists. ( More on that below.)
SOAK will fundamentally rewrite the future of day spas by developing a model that works without heavy consumption of resources. Your Contribution Changes The Future Of Spa Design And Kicks Off the Urban Bathhouse Movement.
If you look closely, you'll see two cold plunge buckets, a shower tucked into that white cylinder, and photovoltaic cells on the top right quadrant. On the top left is a solarium.
Energy Efficient and Still Sleek
SOAK is designed to be less opulent than its predecessors (Sutro Baths for example, and Ancient Roman Balneas.) The framework for our modern idea is repurposed shipping containers designed to have solar panels on top, a rainwater catchment and filtration system, and a graywater garden on our back patio, all without sacrificing style. The corrugated exterior of the containers means a sleek urban aesthetic, and the back patio means that on sunny days the bathhouse is not limited to an indoor experience.
Detail demonstrating energy savings in each category.
Origin Story
SOAK was dreamed up and created by native New Yorker Nell Waters, a wellness industry veteran and the owner of an award winning studio called Whole Body Tonic, in San Francisco. Nell wanted to tell a different story about wellness.
Her love of European bathing culture, and the wish to reinvent the day spa inspired her to develop a creative and resourceful take on the traditional bathhouse experience, and along the way a movement about healthy hedonism.
Sustainability Meets Sociability
Part of our vision was of a social space, one where being social is integral to being healthy. Of equal consideration was that the site and space consumed fewer resources than a luxury day spa.
At SOAK, there are no silence gongs. There's no green tea, and there's no new age music. Our goal is to change the conversation about wellness. Think of it as the Anti-Spa.
In 2011, Nell began talking with friends and experts at the San Francisco based design group Rebar - famous for introducing most of the world to PARK(ing) Day and many of us to the parklets that dot many cities' landscapes - about turning her idea into a practical model.
You're looking at the result of detailed research on average rainfall, intensity of plug loads at an eco-spa, and the overall experience for those coming to soak. When it's built and open for business, SOAK will be an iconic destination that restores an ancient ritual, guilt-free.
Cargotecture in the City
The decision to build into shipping containers was as much about limiting our reliance on heavy infrastructure as about having a durable and good looking aesthetic. In most urban enclaves shipping containers are synonymous with creative pop-up businesses. Quick to retrofit, easy to move, and inexpensive to occupy, they are less like food trucks, moving all the time, and more like medium-term projects lasting between two to five years at one location. Cargotecture like this - much like DeKalb market in Brooklyn and Proxy in San Francisco - is making neighborhoods come to life!
What's Happened Already
Engineers at ARUP have analyzed our designs and tell us that we can get every watt of energy we need from the sun thanks to heat exchangers and super efficient equipment that squeezes every last drop of solar energy to heat and power our tubs and sauna.
Sankey Diagrams show energy flow
EARLY BACKERS
With the help of early adopters, friends and family, a small group of founding members got behind the SOAK idea early in 2012. That support enabled us to produce the architectural renderings and research presented here.
HEALTHY HEDONISTS
We wanted to name the ideal person most suited for SOAK. Turns out there are a lot of us who make an effort to be healthy but don't want to be dogmatic or ideological about it. Healthy Hedonists enjoy what comes after the challenge - sleeping in, bourbon, espresso - as much as the run, ride, hike itself. And we know there are a lot of you out there!
TEAM
Early on we met with structural engineers, people in the mayor's office, Parks & Rec advisors, and urban planners to source ideas about where to locate SOAK and how it can best fit with the needs of an urban landscape. A lot of what you see now is the result of more than a year's worth of conversations and brainstorming on mobility, water storage, our environmental impact, and the urban experience. Our large network of advisors extends from engineers at the global firm Arup, architects at ReBar, and private developers.
SOAK's innovative design was led by one of the principals and co-founders at Rebar, Blaine Merker, who has experience working with the city of San Francisco, and knows how to bring sustainability projects to life in really exciting ways.
ADVISORS
A project like this doesn't happen by itself. The people listed here have been supportive, smart, and really helpful in getting us to where we are. Matthew Purdon, Product Leader, Marketing Services, Chegg.Com; Wendy Norris, Principal, Norris Communications; John Bela, Founder and Principal, Rebar Art and Design Studio; Kristin Saunders, Associate Designer, Rebar Art and Design Studio; Stephanie Versin, Associate Director, Individual gifts, California Academy of Sciences; Dana Clark, Executive Coach, Love Your Life; Rob Delamater, Owner, Lost Art Salon; Barbara Franzoia, Principal, Barbara Franzoia Consults; Michael Yarne, Principal, Build Inc., Executive Director, UP Urban; Doniece Sandoval, Founder, Lava Mae; Helen Waters, Mom; John Waters, Professor, SCAD
Our Promise To You, Our Kickstarter Community
Whether you pledge $25 for a one-of-a-kind coffee mug that says "Healthy Hedonist", $125 for an exclusive preview to SOAK, or $10,000 for an entire day of Healthy Hedonism curated for you and three friends, we promise to follow through if our goal of $240,000 is reached. We chose Kickstarter as a way of promising you - our backers - that we would only accept your donations if we can reach our total goal. It's a two way channel. No money will be deducted from your account unless we are successful.
We want to prototype SOAK to prove our concept, and bring the eco-spa to scale.
If we're successful with our Kickstarter campaign we'll be able to determine the structural criteria for seismic bracing of the containers, assess water use throughout the project, and establish performance criteria for all our energy management systems. The engineers at Arup have made themselves familiar with this project and they will be working with us on this part.
Next we'll begin fabrication of two shipping containers to roll out in 2014. Money raised from this campaign will go toward many of the systems seen in our renderings and equipment unique to our design, such as the solar panels, gray water filtration plan, interior fixtures, and our sauna and hot pools. We want to iron out the kinks and prove this concept, ideally letting us build SOAK to scale.
Thanks Everyone!! SOAK has lined up its home, in part of the light industrial developments in San Francisco on the east side of the city. Once we're open, locals in San Francisco plus visitors from anywhere in the world can come take a dip in the tub, soak, and hang out in our solarium.
What If We Exceed Our Goal: The amount we raise through this campaign is for a 2-box prototype. If we exceed our goal of $240,000 we will continue to build out to our original specs. Each next phase of design and fabrication is ready to kickoff as soon as we give the Go sign.
SOAK in Sister Cities
Once we prove our concept in San Francisco we would like to see SOAK have a home in Brooklyn, and Portland too. We think SOAK has the ability to provide more than just Bay Area folks with the urban bathhouse experience.
If you want to visit the ecological urban bathhouse when it opens, please pledge.
We've gotten some great press:
Inhabitat says: SOAK Pop-Up Shipping Container Spa Promotes Health & Sustainability in San Francisco
Architect's Newspaper says: The energy comes from heat exchangers and efficient equipment to heat and power the “healthy hedonist” experience called SOAK.
This year Nell was chosen by 7x7 Magazine as one of their Hot 20 Picks.
For more information on why healthy hedonists are winning, visit our website. :)
REWARDS
Our FIRST SOAK pass will be sent to everyone able to pledge $50 and up. This get you access to SOAK during an exclusive preview week devoted to our Kickstarter community, before we open to the general public.
Our signature healthy hedonist coffee mugs. Who wouldn't want to wake up and have their tea or coffee from this stylish vessel?
The official SOAK hoodie! Need we say more?
Risks and challenges
There is always the risk with a new prototype that permitting will delay opening and potentially incur additional costs. We are fortunate to have people on our team with lots of experience working with the city on interim-use projects and as a result have already begun having the necessary conversations with the right people.
We have seen a detailed estimate of all our build out requirements and by the time we begin fabrication we will be provided with another set of cost estimates that refer to our energy systems. Still, there is the risk that there are additional blind costs. So while we push forward with our Kickstarter campaign we are also seeking out strategic partners who can support us and keep us on track to follow through.
Timing and execution is important to this project. We have already identified the developers in San Francisco who we want to work with and met with them to discuss their timeline for growth at their respective sites. This means an active collaboration for the future of those planned developments and fewer barriers once SOAK chooses where to build.
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Funding period
- (36 days)