Gold Medal-Winning sauna
at RHS Wentworth Woodhouse

Between the 16th and 20th of July 2025, a bespoke ‘Onnen’ featured as part of Luke Coleman’s show garden at the RHS Flower Show at Wentworth Woodhouse. Taking Gold in the RHS Young Designer of the Year, Best Construction Young Designer and People’s Choice Young Designer, Luke’s design - Drakkar’s Drift impressed with its ambition, design and construction. Sitting in the heart of the garden, the Onnen offered a space of stillness and tranquillity, providing the perfect vantage point to observe and enjoy the garden.

Drakkar's Drift

Rooted in ecological awareness and inspired by the dramatic basalt columns of Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa, Drakkar's Drift blends Nordic wellness traditions with elements of the Scottish Highlands, celebrating the historic connection between the two regions that dates back to the Vikings. The elemental forms of the basalt columns served as a structural reference point for the garden, represented by hexagonal columns that had both ecological and sculptural effects. The overall design is grounded in Luke's core principles: working with the local vernacular, using reclaimed and native materials, and balancing what he describes as "messy ecosystems" with "orderly frames" — allowing wilder planting schemes to be held by clear, deliberate structures.

Wood-fired and clad in hand-laid shingles, the specially designed Onnen featured a planted green roof and an Osmo oil finish, helping it blend naturally into the garden scheme. The sauna created a sense of stillness, providing a point of contrast to the surrounding planting and reinforcing the idea of gardens as places of wellbeing and retreat.

Landscaping by Ampersand Landscape Construction Specialists.

Photography by Kat Weatherill.

Luke Coleman

For more on Luke and his journey to the RHS Young Designer of the Year competition, you can read this interview we did with him during his visit to the workshop.

Follow him on Instagram @lukecolemangardens and via lukecoleman.co.uk.