2011 Finalist
Creators: Sarah Bonnemaison and Robin Muller (Architextile Lab)
Nominator: Sandra Alfoldy (Design Arts)
Seconders: Glen Hougan, Andrew Whittemore
The Warming Hut is an innovative architectural space created by Architextile Lab (a design team led by textile artist Robin Muller and architect Sara Bonnemaison) as a temporary shelter for skaters at the Oval on the Halifax Common in the winter of 2011. This exciting tipi-like structure employs various technologies to warm and delight the user, including seats woven from heated straps, mittens that transmute the visitor’s heartbeat to an audio pulse, and a huge, magical, softly flashing snowflake chandelier. Fun, functional, and aesthetically engaging, the glowing structure was enjoyed by many thousands of winter visitors and enthusiastically covered by local and international newsmedia.
