Warming Huts v.2011: An Art + Architecture Competition on Ice

Warming Huts v.2011: An Art + Architecture Competition on Ice: Five New Huts Take Shape this Week at The Forks

The Forks, Winnipeg – The teams have arrived in Winnipeg and are building their warming hut creations, which until now have only been theoretical.

Five new huts are being built his week in and around the Canopy area in front of The Forks Market by a truly international group of architects.

“It will be really interesting for everyone to come down and watch these huts being built,” says Paul Jordan, Chief Operating Officer, The Forks. “Not only will we see how theory translates into practice from what was envisioned to what is practical to build, but we’ll also see from some of these architects just how they personally fare in the climate they are building them in.”

Three huts were chosen from an open design competition with the winning designs coming from teams in Tel Aviv, Philadelphia and New York. The fourth hut was chosen from student submissions at the University of Manitoba and the fifth is from the minds of renowned Vancouver architects, and former Winnipeggers, John and Patricia Patkau.

“This competition is really gaining in terms of international recognition,” says Paul Jordan. “We had over 130 entries in our competition and they were from every corner of the globe. With the assistance of our partners, we can see that this is just going to get bigger and bigger each and every year.”

The Canada Council, on board for the first time this year, gave this project an enthusiastic response.

“The Canada Council is really happy to contribute to this project,” says Brigitte Desrochers - Program Officer, Architecture, Canada Council for the Arts. “The jury of architects and architecture critics who assessed the Winnipeg Warming Huts project gave it their full, enthusiastic support.”

The Manitoba Association of Architects believes that these humble huts will be leaving a lasting legacy for our city.

“The focus of this event is to invite ideas on shelter and art that push the envelope of design. The 2011 winning submissions provide a wonderful array of interpretation of sheltering our Manitoba skaters and trekkers along the Red River. The successful entries are imaginative, poetic, functional and tied contextually to our Winter City – these will be our little treasures for years to come” says Art Martin, President, Manitoba Association of Architects. “I was particularly pleased to see our University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture students represented in their submission. We are delighted to be one of the sponsors of this unique initiative and welcome the important conversations generated on design and art in our community and lives.”

The huts will be completed on The Forks site by the end of this weekend. They will be taken to Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail during the week of January 31st. A few of the huts will remain on The Forks site. They will be joined by four of the huts from last year’s exposition: Carcass, Apparition, Fir Hut and Ice Cube.

The competition component, supported in part by the Manitoba Association of Architects, was announced September 2010. This year the Inn at the Forks will act as host hotel and additional support has been received from PCL and KGS.

Note to editors/directors: Design images and submission summaries are attached.

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For more information on this event, please contact:
Clare MacKay
Manager, Marketing and Communications
The Forks
Phone: 987.4360

About Warming Huts v.2011: An Art + Architecture Competition on Ice

Warming Huts v.2011: An Art + Architecture Competition on Ice, was an open competition, endorsed by the Manitoba Association of Architects. Proposals for the competition were all submitted online at www.warminghuts.com. The jury, comprised of last years’ participants have selected the designs that best “push the envelope of design, craft and art.”

Three huts were chosen from the open submission process, one from a separate University of Manitoba competition and one is being designed by invited architects John and Patricia Patkau.

Our Partners

Canada Council for the Arts - Manitoba

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $5.9 million in the arts in Manitoba.
Nous remercions de son soutien le Conseil des Arts du Canada, qui a investi 5,9 millions de dollars l'an dernier dans les arts au

Manitoba Association of Architects

Established in 1914, the Manitoba Association of Architects (MAA) is a self-governing professional association charged under The Architects Act with the registration of architects and with the regulation of the practice of architecture in the province of Manitoba. The Association regulates the practice of architecture for the protection of the public and the administration of the profession.

Saison Voyageur

Saison Voyageur is an initiative to brand Winnipeg’s winter season as one filled with action, adventure and discovery, and promotes Winnipeg as a vibrant winter destination. With all the winter activities, festivals and cultural events that are synonymous with winter, Saison Voyageur, along with its title sponsor Manitoba Lotteries, are working together to celebrate community spirit and promote the many great winter events in Winnipeg. There’s the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail and the Arctic Glacier Winter Park at The Forks and of course the annual Festival du Voyageur that’s celebrated for 10 days at the end of February. Along with these great outdoor events, Saison Voyageur also promotes many of the other cultural events that take place indoors such as MTC’s Master Playwright Festival and the WSO’s New Music Festival.

Inn at the Forks

Inn at the Forks is Winnipeg's only boutique hotel and the only hotel located at The Forks; Manitoba's most popular tourist destination. This Winnipeg hotel features modern style and commitment to service in a spectacular natural setting. Its friendly and attentive staff offer individual attention to your needs and its full-service hotel & spa offers many amenities, including convention facilities, gourmet dining, downtown shuttle and complimentary wireless. For reservations please visit www.innforks.com.

KGS

KGS Group is an employee owned multi-disciplinary engineering firm with its head office in Winnipeg, Manitoba and regional branch offices located in Thunder Bay and Mississauga, Ontario, and Regina, Saskatchewan. KGS Group has a permanent staff of approximately 300 professional engineers and geoscientists and technical support personnel, most with advanced degrees and considerable years of experience. The Firm provides services to government and private sector clients throughout Canada.

PCL

PCL has a proven reputation as a construction leader: a strong, reliable and successful contracting entity that prides itself on producing a quality product that meets or exceeds client expectations. It is this reputation for construction excellence that makes us Canada’s largest and most successful General Contractor.
Established over 100 years ago, in 1906, the PCL family of companies is the largest general contracting organization in Canada, a position we have held for more than 30 years, and one of the largest General Contractor in the United States. With annual billings of $6 billion, our sound market position and solid financial status enables PCL to deliver value added to all of our customers. The Winnipeg Office has been in operation since 1963.

Warming Huts v.2011: An Art + Architecture Competition on Ice The Huts

The Ha(y)ven – New York, New York

The design emerged from a simple organic material having a strong association and history with the winter season. Hay is commonly used both as feedstock and as a natural insulation in barns/stables where it is stored and increasingly more commonly specified on the innovative side of modern architecture.

The warming hut’s basic building unit, the hay bale, is quite versatile since the advancement of recent balers to which blocks of different shapes, sizes, and density can be produced. With the wide availability of the renewable resource and its low cost, the team made the conclusion that the vernacular material will allow a large iconic structure to be erected. With the aids of pins, wiring and netting, the proposal’s structural soundness can be easily achieved to function as a load bearing facility which can resist high wind loads. The tower will easily rise as a landmark along the Assiniboine River and provide a unique shelter for visitors with a breathtaking skylight.

The team has been gathered by Tri Nguyen who has a background in Architecture and Chemical Engineering. His mentors during the conception of the Ha(y)ven were Jayne Chu, Ben Olschner, and Jakob Seyboth. As an artist, Jayne has a portfolio that includes works in oil paintings, film, literature, graphic design, and works in the nonprofit realm. As a masters graduate of Edinburgh University, Ben Olschner has been leading designs at Herzog & De Meuron, participating in freelance work with renderings and publishing, and been involved in educating young minds at the universities.Jakob Seyboth, a student of the masters program at ETH Zurich has collaborated with Herzog & De Meuron, Aterier Jean Nouvel, Xpace, and Acebo x Alonso in designs and competitions some which have gained awards.

Woodpile – Tel Aviv, Israel

Setting up a fire is the most elementary act of warming. WOODPILE hut serves as a place for that act, while transforming it into its construction material: The hut's walls are constructed as a spatial metal frame which contains firewood. Using the firewood through time constantly changes the hut's appearance.

As winter begins and firewood is stacked, the woodpile's level is at its maximum, closing the hut from the surrounding and isolating its inner space from the winter colds. Looking through the cracks between the woods, one can see the campfire being held inside.

As spring approaches, the stack's level is lower and the hut's interior space is gradually revealed and exposed to the outside. At summertime the hut’s naked construction could also serve as a shaded pavilion along the river.
WOODPILE has been designed by architects Noa Biran and Roy Talmon of Tel Aviv. Their architecture practice co-exists with projects in photography, dance, video art and installations. In both their design process and artistic creations they see platform for expressing their political, cultural, social and ecological believes. Besides working as architects in architecture firms which specialize in cultural and public projects, they also work together independently on private housed, interior design and installations.

Under the Covers – Philadelphia, PA

Under the Covers is playful and poignant, a discovery and a beacon, a split in the fabric of snow that becomes a place of refuge and respite. Quite simply, it uses the conceptual act of splitting and peeling up the snow to generate shelter, simultaneously exposing the “ground” beneath. In this way, the fabric of snow is distorted, with the shelter recognized by the user through the act of distortion in the existing field of white. The “grass” that is now exposed becomes a moment of comfort and visual identifier to the user. The beauty of snow is that it is an equalizer. All of the disparate elements within the fabric of an environment are mitigated, connected, and seen in new light through the covering in a blanket of white. Under the Covers exploits this trait, providing momentary comfort while hinting at what lies below and what is to come.

While Robert B. Trempe works alone, his approach to all of his work is multi-disciplinary. He was trained as an architect, worked as an educator, and operates as an artist.

Jellyfish – Patkau Architects, Vancouver, BC

Patkau Architects is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There are currently two principals: John and Patricia Patkau, and three associates: David Shone, Peter Suter and Greg Boothroyd.

In over 30 years of practice, both in Canada and in the United States, Patkau Architects has been responsible for the design of a wide variety of building types for a diverse range of clients. Projects vary in scale from gallery installations to master planning, from modest houses to major urban libraries. Many projects have involved functional programming, management of detailed public processes, and design of complex buildings and sites.

Cocoon – University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB

The unique Manitoba weather offers an opportunity to produce truly site/climate specific architecture to celebrate the river walk experience. Professor Lancelot Coar working with students from the Department of Architecture at the University of Manitoba will attempt to do this by constructing an ephemeral refuge made primarily from the elements of the river walk itself.

By first setting up a lightweight compressive framing system, this warming hut will be skinned with a flexible fabric membrane that will cover the structure. After drilling a hole into the ice, the river water will be pumped-out and sprayed onto the skin, freezing it and creating a stiffened body on the skeleton it covers. The fabric will become a firm, translucent shell that will illuminate the space within and offer protection from the snow and wind.

Throughout its life, the semi-transparent thin-shelled structure will become a venue for various arts programming that will engage visitors to the hut during the day and at night. In conjunction with several artists from Winnipeg, the hut will offer a temporary site for performances by storytellers, a short film series projected on the structure itself, and many other events.

This warming hut project will involve the participation of the students of architecture at the University of Manitoba. Both undergraduate and masters level students will work with Professor Coar to design, construct, and raise the structure.

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