Warming hut designers offer visitors creative ways to stay cozy at The Forks

Winners of the annual warming huts contest at The Forks in Winnipeg are finally seeing their vision come to life.

The creators of six new huts were on site this week to build their installations, offering visitors creative ways to keep warm at the Nestaweya River Trail and the Winnipeg 150 Winter Park — the on-land skating rinks and trails at The Forks.

This year, designers and architects from England, France, Germany, Switzerland and the U.S. will have their work showcased along with new installations from Winnipeg students and artists from Peguis First Nation.

Three of this year’s designs were picked from more than 200 submissions from all around the world as part of the annual warming huts competition, which invites designers to build unique structures that serve both as warming spaces and works of art.

This year’s designs include a dim-sum-like structure made out of felt that people can step into and spin around, a pavilion designed to respond to the changing Winnipeg weather, and benches built in the shape of a catfish.

The initiative is “about the communities that each of these teams come from, and how bits of their diverse backgrounds and cultures and experiences are woven into their designs and projects,” said Forks CEO Sara Stasiuk.

“What we’re here for is about the community here in Winnipeg, Manitoba…. These huts are designed by people, for people, and this is truly what it’s all about.”

Circling Above Us is a design from father-son duo Wayne and Jordan Stranger in the shape of a giant eagle. (Submitted by The Forks)

Jordan Stranger and his father, Wayne, were the invited artists in this year’s warming hut design competition.

The father-son duo’s installation, Circling Above Us, is designed to look like an eagle, with its wings wrapping around benches and a fire. The wings are crafted from cedar, a sacred medicine.

“Eagles have always been a big part of our lives and they’ve shown up in times of change and joy, and that’s kind of what we wanted to share with the people here,” said Jordan Stranger, a Winnipeg artist who is originally from Peguis First Nation.

“It’s always nice to have something to see when you’re out adventuring, especially on the trail. And I encourage people to come down and see the … other structures here as well.”

An artist’s rendering shows Murky Waters, designed by Christopher Loofs, Jordan Loofs, and Kaci Marshall of Oklahoma City, Okla. (Submitted by The Forks )

Amisk, named after the Cree word for beaver, was the winning design from this year’s school competition. The building was created by seven elementary school students at St. Avila School in Winnipeg, the youngest-ever team in the competition’s history.

Ice Henge, a winterly version of Stonehenge, was designed by University of Manitoba’s faculty of architecture students.

‘Being together’

The three winners from the open-submission process were:

• Murky Waters, designed by Christopher Loofs, Jordan Loofs, and Kaci Marshall (Oklahoma City, Okla.).
• Spinning Dim Sum, by Verena Nelles Kempf (Zurich, Switzerland) and Ilga Nelles (Hamburg, Germany).
• Sublimation designed by Francisco Silva and Barbara Stallone (Paris) and Alexander Pollard (London).

Sisters Verena and Ilga designed Spinning Dim Sum.

“‘Spinning’ because you can turn it around — it’s not very heavy — and ‘dim sum’ because it’s folded like the dim sums you can eat,” Verena said. “You get warm by spinning it and sitting inside and being together.”

Spinning Dim Sum is an installation made out of felt. People can get in the dim-sum-like structures and spin around in them. (CBC)

Ilga said the installation is meant to contrast the area’s vast white landscape.

“You really have the impression of a hideaway or a sanctuary,” she said.

“Thousands of years back to the ancient times, [this] was a place of trade and cultural interchange. So it was important to us that it’s an object that the people socially interact with and they play with it.”

The warming huts contest has been held annually for more than a decade.

All six new huts are open to the public, along with favourites from years past. Free walking tours will take place Saturdays at 1 p.m. from Jan. 27 to Feb. 24. People must register ahead.