Big Sauna just won’t stop until we’ve all been converted to the pastime. To the delight of hot-and-cold wellness enthusiasts in New York, yet another design-forward bathing club has opened — this time on Broadway in NoHo. Lore describes itself as a ‘refined alternative to spas and gyms’, and founders James O’Reilly and Adam Elzer have put some design heft behind the claim, calling on Ilse Crawford’s Studioilse to design the interiors in collaboration with Ringo Studio.

O’Reilly, a founder of the co-working studio NeueHause, and Elzer, a restaurateur, have worked out a programme that bridges the gap between office and evening with contrast therapy, the centuries-old practice of alternating hot and cold exposure to restore balance and sharpen mental clarity. The 6,200sqft space has a dry Finnish sauna, infrared sauna and a pool room between them with a 16x7ft cold-plunge pool and hammam-style heated stone benches. Members can pop in for a 90-minute session or take a group class of hot yoga or Aufguss, a Tyrolean towel-swinging movement class practiced alongside aromatherapy in the sauna. Group sweating is at the core of the Big Sauna ethos.

The designers used travertine around the plunge pool and walnut in the sauna. A calm, tiled lobby-café serving La Cabra coffee, Masha teas, pressed juices and bone broth will also act as a gathering place after sound bath ‘listening parties’ and guided stretching sessions.