Warming Huts

Our winning entry to the international architecture competition Warming Huts v.2012, to be created in January 2012.

Our idea of warming huts for ice skaters extends the provision of mere shelter. Instead of adding a new structure to tha landscape, the landscape itself is transformed into shapes that offer shelter. 

We designed „POLAR HEN“, a terraforming machine. A pump with a sprinkler connected to a compressor and a generator. It settles down on the ice, perforates it and begins to pump up the icy riverwater to spray it over an air-filled silicone inflatable. The water freezes on the surface of the inflatable thus creating fully transparent ice igloos. When the ice coat thickens enough, the inflatable is emptied and removed from the inside of the igloo. POLAR HEN is now ready to move on and create more igloos!