Morning light inside a New Primitive cedar sauna

I built the first one for myself.

Growing up in Utah, the mountains were the recovery. The fire was the recovery. Then I moved into a life that didn’t have either, and watched what it did to me.

The first sauna I built was in my own backyard. The second was for a friend. By the fifth, I realized I wasn’t building saunas, I was building the way back to something we’d lost.

That’s New Primitive. A way to put the practice back where it belongs, at home, on a Tuesday, for the rest of your life.

Cole, Founder, New Primitive

§ 02 Thesis From the founder

A thesis from the founder

Modern progression. Ancient traditions.

New Primitive is the balance between modern progression and ancient traditions, an experience that connects us back with the root of our human experience.

Living in a modern, high-performing society, we’ve become dysregulated and disconnected from true nature. This is a calling back to our roots: to get quiet, to slow down, to get back into our natural rhythm of who we are at the core.

Our body has a natural clock that heats up during the day and cools down at night. Living life at 72 degrees, we miss the natural triggers that keep us in rhythm. The tools and spaces we make introduce contrast stimulus, a signal back to the body to sync again.

A New Primitive owner in the red-lit calm of their sauna

At the core of what we do is connecting back with our true nature.

Cole, Founder

Hand-built in our dry factory.

Dry factory interior, wood, hands, work in progress — Every kit is built indoors in a climate-controlled dry factory in Utah. No outdoor weather exposure during construction. No moisture in the wood when it ships. Materials are natural, biodegradable, and decarbonizing, built to last a lifetime, and to be relocated if you ever move. Leaving no trace.

What we build with. And why.

Three layers, envelope, interior, decking, and a short list of materials chosen for performance, finish, and the way they age. Full taxonomy on the Materials page.

Exterior cladding

The face of every build. Weather-facing, 50-yr warranty.

Shou Sugi Ban. Vertical board & gap, deep char, oiled matte. Doesn’t fade, gets quieter with the years.

50 yr cladding
·
10 yr finish

Thermally-modified ash. Warm grain, dimensionally stable, holds finish through dry heat and storm cycles.

Thermo-modified
·
50 yr cladding

Honest, workhorse exterior. Lighter tone, ages with the site. Good for warmer regions.

Sustainably sourced

Interior paneling

Inside the sauna cabin. Raw, breathable, no sealer.

Western Red Cedar, clear vertical grain, 7/8" slat with 1/2" reveal. Sanded to 180 grit. No varnish, no sealer.

Vertical grain
·
180 grit

Primitive Panel, board and batten interior

Board & batten profile. Stronger horizontal rhythm. More material weight inside the room.

Board & batten
·
Cedar core

Lighter tone, harder surface, lower resin. The right call for hotter operating temperatures.

Thermo-modified
·
Low resin

See the full Materials library →

The standard.

We are happy to lose a sale to keep a standard.

We will

Hand-build every unit indoors in a dry factory. No outdoor exposure during construction.
Use natural, biodegradable, decarbonizing materials. Wood that came from somewhere, and goes back.
Deliver to the spot. Cranes, forklifts, ledges, retaining walls, our team handles placement.
Answer the phone for the lifetime of the unit. Real humans. Cole or Shane.