Into the Woods

[Warming Huts 2015]

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Winnipeg is home to the world's longest naturally frozen skating trail. In an attempt to embrace its harsh northern climate, the city annually launches an international design competition to celebrate art and architecture on ice.  The competition is to design and build Warming Huts that are placed along the skating trail throughout the winter months.

The [204] Design Collective has submitted Into the Woods as a proposed art installation for the 2015 Warming Huts design competition.

The idea is to build a forest on ice. The forest is a place for mischief. The youth go to the forest to escape the gaze of adults and the gaze of the world, so they can be free to play. The forest is where you had your first drink, your first kiss and your first cigarette. This is a place that has been designed to recreate that sense of wonderment and mystery. The forest is experienced as you skate down the trail and are drawn in by a bosque of stripped Aspen trees embedded in the ice. At the heart of the forest, there is a party where there is music, food and lights. This is a gathering space where individuals come together to interact and engage with each other and their surroundings.

With the intension of reaching out and connecting with local businesses, we hope to use this bar as a platform to encourage pop up events related to music, food and art. The success of Into the Woods relies on its engagement with the arts through local programming.