Organizer Information
The Warming Huts competition is presented by The Forks, a historic site in downtown Winnipeg located at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, an area that has served as a meeting and trading place for thousands of years and today draws more than four million visitors annually. The competition was founded in 2009 by Sputnik Architecture Inc. with the goal of drawing the public back into downtown Winnipeg during the winter months, and it is now in its second decade of operation.
Over the years, the Warming Huts have grown into an internationally recognized event, drawing hundreds of submissions annually from designers, architects, and artists around the world and attracting contributions from prominent figures including Frank Gehry, Anish Kapoor, and Patkau Architects. The Forks manages construction and project delivery for the winning entries each year through a dedicated project manager and technical committee.
Title & Description
Warming Huts v.2027: An Arts + Architecture Competition on Ice
This is an annual open call inviting architects, students of architecture, landscape architects, interior designers, artists, and industrial designers to submit designs for a warming hut or art installation. Three winning teams will have their designs built and placed along the Nestaweya River Trail on the frozen Assiniboine and Red rivers at The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where they will be experienced by the public throughout the winter season. The competition specifically encourages the formation of multi-disciplinary teams and asks designers to engage with the physical conditions of a frozen river environment, including solar radiation, wind chill, and a constantly shifting snow-covered landscape, with temperatures that can drop below -30°C and ice that can reach roughly one meter thick by late January.
Categories
- Architecture
- Installation
- Public Art
- Design
- Interior Design
- Industrial Design
- Site-specific
- Sculpture
Eligibility
- Open to architects, students of architecture, landscape architects, interior designers, artists, and industrial designers
- Entrants must have a proven portfolio of design work
- No nationality or country-of-residence restriction is stated; the competition is open internationally — confirmed by the source's provision of travel budget specifically for "foreign teams"
- Multi-disciplinary teams are encouraged, though the source does not state that team formation is mandatory
- Winning teams must include both an artist and a registered architect or intern architect, as this is later verified by the competition
Program Benefits & Awards
- Up to $3,500 (CAN) designers' honorarium per winning project
- Up to $7,500 (CAN, including taxes) for materials and/or consultants needed to realize the project, jointly managed by The Forks and the designer
- Up to $4,000 (CAN) for labour costs of construction
- Up to $1,500 (CAN) for construction management conducted by The Forks
- Up to $1,000 (CAN) available for accommodation expenses for foreign teams
- Up to $2,500 (CAN) available for airfare for foreign teams
- Winning teams are invited to Winnipeg for several days of activities around the installation launch, including speaking engagements, a hockey game against local architects, a field trip to Lake Winnipeg, and a celebratory party hosted by The Forks
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Online registration at warminghuts.com/competition, generating a unique registration number that must appear on every submitted page
- Design Submission Sheet (Page One, 11"x17" or A3): project summary including registration number, a 150-word concept description, and a layout of selected images and drawings
- Design Submission Sheet (Page Two, 11"x17" or A3): four main views or elevations indicating size and materials, plus one full perspective view; saved as [Registration Number]_Design.pdf
- Team Information Sheet (maximum four pages, 8.5"x11" or A4): project name and registration number, design team member names with brief CVs, contact person details, a 100-word team description, artist information (name, location, date of recent publications/exhibits/performances), architect's professional association registration, and four images of past projects by team members with brief descriptions; saved as [Registration Number]_Team.pdf
- All files submitted as PDFs not exceeding 5MB each, in English
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 6 October 2026
- Selected teams notified: 12 October 2026
- Technical review period: October 13–31, 2026
- Construction documents due: 30 November 2026
- Construction period: December 1, 2026 – January 26, 2027
- Teams arrive in Winnipeg for launch and speaking engagements: January 27–30, 2027
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Additional Details
- Selection process: the jury reviews all entries and narrows them to ten finalists, then ranks the top five, with the three highest-ranked projects undergoing a technical review before winners are declared; this is a "blind" jury process, meaning team information is withheld until after ranking.
- Jury composition: a rotating group of five original jurors (professional architects, designers, and artists), three guest jurors representing the local community, and one student from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture or Fine Arts who was previously involved in the Warming Huts.
- Winning teams must develop construction drawings in collaboration with a technical committee to confirm feasibility and budget, and must work to the schedule set by The Forks.
- By entering, participants authorize the competition to make their proposals public, exhibit them, and disseminate them, including as part of a possible online exhibition.
- The Forks reserves the right not to follow up on the call for entries.
- Winners will be announced publicly throughout December via The Forks' social media (@theforkswinnipeg) and the Warming Huts website.