häp skäCH: Reimagining a childhood classic.

Every year, as the temperature drops and the Red and Assiniboine rivers freeze, designers and artists watch as their creative visions come to life on the Nestaweya River Trail.

Winnipeg’s Warming Huts Competition has received entries from across the globe and has been featured in the New York Times. It challenges artists, architects, and designers to think beyond ordinary structures (huts) and “push the envelope of design, craft, and art.” (www.warminghuts.com)

For the 2024 Warming Huts Competition, Republic submitted two entries: Blanket Fort and häp skäCH. Two members of the creative team, Claire Spearman, and César Cruz Cázares, reflected on the entries, creative process, collaboration, and the interaction between people and spaces.

“We have dreary winters and bringing playful and colourful things to the winter landscape is particularly important,” Claire thoughtfully reflected on the concept. häp skäCH, Claire’s brainchild, was developed along with other members of the team namely: Jen Reynolds, Stas Klaz, Steve Isfeld, and Sean Usher. The entry made it to the top five selections from over 200 entries both local and international. “It’s a huge competition and to have this recognition, given the number of entries, is a great acknowledgement.” 

häp skäCH is an imaginative iteration of the childhood playground classic – hopscotch. Inspired by the prairie fields that create a grid-like structure and form a patchwork pattern, the team responded to the competition’s creative brief by recreating this flat landscape into a 3-dimensional and interactive concept.

häp skäCH rendering

Blanket Fort rendering

“I think about children and their playfulness, and how this will attract and excite them,” César reflected on the feelings evoked by the conceptual piece. “It’s whimsical…and it moves away from the idea of a literal hut and turns it into something interactive.”

häp skäCH began from a linear idea to a signage-based design and evolved into a set of colourful half-orbs and curvilinear foam forms that playfully interrupt the sheet of snow and ice. “We went through a process of ‘exploding’ the hopscotch board. We wanted to use the space and make it a part of the route” César explained. Intended to have passersby interact with it, häp skäCH was designed as an invitation to play, connect, and reimagine a space.

häp skäCH aerial view

häp skäCH began from a linear idea to a signage-based design and evolved into a set of colourful half-orbs and curvilinear foam forms that playfully interrupt the sheet of snow and ice. “We went through a process of ‘exploding’ the hopscotch board. We wanted to use the space and make it a part of the route” César explained. Intended to have passersby interact with it, häp skäCH was designed as an invitation to play, connect, and reimagine a space.

häp skäCH rendering

While the entry did not take the win, both César and Claire agreed that it was a worthwhile activity for the team, “Being in the top five makes it worth the effort and it encourages us to try again,” César said. When asked if the 2025 Warming Huts Competition will see another Republic entry, both paused, smiled, and said – “Yes!”