The Dalhousie Architectural Press paid homage to its native Winnipeg’s Warming Huts festival, an annual midwinter exhibit showcasing architectural design, with a book that chronicles the evolution of this artistic event.
Warming Huts: A Decade + of Art and Architecture on Ice contains every entry ever built, from the five huts that were built atop Winnipeg’s icy waters in the first-ever event last 2010, to the more than thirty entries from all around the world last 2020. Aside from the three winners chosen every year, works from invited artists, like Patkau Architects, Frank Gehry Associates, Rojkind Arquitectos, Luca Roncoroni, and Anish Kapoor, collaborations with artists from different fields (Inuk throat-singer, Tanya Tagaq, film-maker, Guy Maddin, Norwegian ice musician, Terje Isungset, and Canadian band Royal Canoe, and even ‘guerilla’ entries from architectural studies all have its place in the book.
Extensive write-ups accompany each image, explaining the story behind each hut, from the social commentary to the historical and geographical significance that accompanies each entry. Founders Sputnik Architecture Inc. and The Forks Renewal Corporation describes it as “A great example of community collaboration and creativity… The transformative impact that the Warming Huts program has had in converting Winnipeg’s rivers into an active winter civic space is impressive – even more so given its humble volunteer-based roots… The program’s scope is ambitious—giving Winnipeg significant international exposure.”
The book can be purchased here.
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