By Alexander Mayhew, for The Lambda
On Feb. 11, various first-year Laurentian University architecture students presented their Warming Hut designs to the Sudbury community.
The four wooden structures were placed on the Ramsey Lake skating path, currently collectively located in front of the rowing club on Elizabeth Street.
The warming huts were designed to provide a warm space for skaters to sit and take a break, as well as a place to tie up their skates, if entering the lake for the first time.
First-year student Simão DaSilva used solely 2×2 wood pieces to create his warming hut. He described his hut to have two walls that intersect in order to provide double the protection against winds coming off of the North side of the lake. The first-year said his project turned out “really well” and that “it was an interesting experience to design the project with open minds, (and) no pre-conceptualized ideas.”
In previous years, teams of first-year students have designed and constructed ice-fishing huts that were auctioned off to the community. This year, however, the students were given this new project, which was inspired by a Winnipeg warming hut competition that began in 2010.
Unfortunately, the short winter season has affected the hut’s time on the ice. School of Architecture faculty member Mark Baechler commented at the opening ceremonies that “the school and faculty were worried if the structures were even going to see some ice time, with the city on the edge opening the skating path at all this year.”
At the end of the winter season, the huts will be deconstructed and reused in future School of Architecture projects, although DaSilva hopes “a section (of his warming hut) can be kept and put on display.”
-Photos by Alexander Mayhew