Warming Huts Competition: „POLAR HEN“ by mjölk architekti

Czech firm mjölk architekti has shared with us their fascinating proposal "POLAR HEN" which was - under the title "ICE PILLOWS" - just recently named one of the five winners in the internationally acclaimed Warming Huts v.2011, An Art +Architecture Competition on Ice (...with one of the other four winners being Frank Gehry!).

For only one winter, the five winning huts will be created and placed on the frozen Assiniboine River in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Project Description from the Architects:

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

We designed „POLAR HEN“, a terraforming creature.

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 icy 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!