Local

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

For that warm, fuzzy feeling

The Forks unveils river hut winners

By: Bill Redekop

Posted: 11/30/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Enlarge Image

Handout Woolhaus

Enlarge Image

Handout Hygge House

Enlarge Image

Handout Smoke House

Hygge, pronounced hYOOguh, sounds more like something you shout at football games after having consumed a few beers.

But starting in January, it will be the place on The Forks frozen river trail where walkers and skaters get a warm feeling all over.

Hygge House is the winning entry in the annual warming hut architecture contest at The Forks. A group of Winnipeg architects beat out 90 entries from around the world with Hygge House.

Hygge is a Danish word meaning physical and social comfort.

Companies Plain Projects, Urbanink and Pike Projects co-operated on the winning design.

The local talent beat out entries from as distant as Tokyo, Moscow, Lisbon, Barcelona, Egypt, Colombia and Germany.

They were chosen by a three-person "blind" jury, meaning the jury had no knowledge or background on any submitters.

Hygge House is an iconic pioneer cabin with the inside painted fluorescent yellow. Everything, including the walls, a functioning wood stove, a crokinole board and a wall-mounted fish, will also be fluorescent yellow.

"We're creating a mindscape for warmth," explained Colin Grover of Pike Projects.

People skating by Hygge House, however, may be left wondering where the other half is.

Said Liz Wreford-Taylor of Plain Projects: "We sliced it in half and opened it up" to make it a place where people are open to social interaction.

It will be surrounded by trees painted black like a small forested yard.

Second and third places went to Smokehouse, by Aamodt/plumb Architects from Cambridge, Mass., and Woolhaus, by Myung kweon Park of New York.

The winning warming huts and others are expected to be on display by the third week of January. Also coming back this year is the 21-tree river ice forest designed by a team of Israeli architects last year.

Paul Jordan, chief operator officer of The Forks Renewal Corp., said it's looking good for the river trail this year but he didn't want to say more.

"I don't want to jinx it," he said. The world's longest ice-skating trail hasn't been its normal self the last two years when it was only three kilometres long.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 30, 2012 A10

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.