Winters in Winnipeg can be rough, but the designers at the Patkau Architect firm have come up with a creative solution that can help outdoor enthusiasts catch a break from the cold while enjoying winter sports.
Each plywood structure bends to form a tapered cone that serves as a wind breaking reprieve for those huddled inside.
The designers explain that the idea behind the shelters is to "learn to celebrate winter - learning to take advantage of the opportunities that winter provides." An good reminder for those among us who have been braving the long winter that there are benefits to getting out there and enjoying the beauty that the season has to offer.
They are grouped in a small 'village' (or 'herd', or 'school', or 'flock', or 'flotilla') to form a collective ... of 'something' ... irreducible to a single interpretation. They stand with their backs to the wind like buffalo, seeming to have life and purpose as they huddle together shielding each other from the elements.
Each shelter is formed of thin, flexible plywood which is given both structure and spatial character through bending/deformation. Skins, made of 2 layers of 3/16th inch thick flexible plywood, are cut in patterns and attached to a timber armature which consists of a triangular base, and wedge shaped spine and ridge members (the ridge is a line to negate the gravity loads of snow).
These are delicate and 'alive' structures. They move gently in the wind, creaking and swaying to and fro at various frequencies, floating precariously on the surface of the frozen river, shaking off any snow that might adhere to their surfaces. Their fragile and tenuous nature makes those sheltered by them supremely aware of the inevitability, ferocity and beauty of winter on the Canadian prairies.Read More: • Pleat Farm • Patkau Architects
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So are these in Winnipeg or are they in Vancouver? Also, the "winter" weather in Vancouver at this time of year is spring weather for the prairie provinces. The normal there for this time of year is a low of 0 degrees. In Winnipeg, the normal low is -21.
It looks like they were done for last year's skating trails in Winnipeg
http://www.patkau.ca/ (click on projects)
This year's winning designs can be found here:
http://www.warminghuts.com/v2012.html
Yay, Winnipeg! I'm going to have to go skating and check these out soon!
"Winters in Vancouver, British Columbia can be rough"
Heh. I guess they can, but they almost never are. We got about a meter of snow around Christmas once when I was a kid but, other than that, it's rarely below freezing. All that "Canadian" stuff about playing hockey on frozen lakes just doesn't apply in Van/Vic.
Cool shelters, though. Could probably be adapted for some high-class ice fishing.
@ADEANAMCN: The wind shelters are in Winnipeg and the designer firm that created them is in Vancouver.
They look beautiful. Art.
Location in the text is now fixed - thanks!
I love that you're including Canadian content.
I hate that no-one on AT seems to have a clue. Vancouver is about as 'rough' as Seattle weather-wise, and its certainly nothing like the 'north pole' (from a post last week).
10 seconds googling will help combat the stereotype of the ignorant yank as much as that of Canada as a frozen tundra.
Would have loved some of these beauties waiting fro the LRT in Edmonton though!
At first glance it reminded me of Stonehenge. Very cool structures.
Beautiful, like personal seashells... I love the look, but *I'd* rather be in a heated building, thanks very much! I'm trying to think of a reason to have a cluster of these in my back yard, though! (HA!)
E-Town from T-Town, who's stereotyping now? Some of us on AT have actually been to Canada.
Love 'em. Bring them to Saskatchewan for a real test of winter! :)
I like the shelters, and wish more of our enclosures, like bus shelters and shop awnings, had as much thought put into their looks.
Correction, though: bison do not stand with their backs to the wind. They’re quite famous for facing directly into the wind, their forequarters and heads protected by very dense and heavy manes. The bison is Manitoba’s provincial symbol, and as a schoolchild I was taught that its apparent resolution in the face of wintry blasts was one reason for this.
These days I live in Vancouver, not Winnipeg, and I assure you: winters here may be dark and damp, but they’re not remotely as harsh as winters elsewhere in Canada. Winter here will make you uncomfortable; winter in Winnipeg will kill you if you give it a chance.
Cool shelters & art all in one!
A similar project was done last year here in Copenhagen: http://ploefff.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/the-caves-of-the-triangle_snit-500x401.jpg
They are simply made from plywood, electrical strips and a lick of paint - I'm thinking they would make a lovely pavillion in someone's garden.