Warming huts take shape at The Forks

Winnipeg's newest warming huts are being transformed from ideas and designs into structural reality at The Forks.

The popular architectural creations that line Winnipeg's river skating trail each year are to be completed by the end of the week and will then be moved to the Red River Mutual Trail shortly after.

• Winning designs unveiled for Winnipeg's 2015 warming huts
• Trail at The Forks now open for skating, warming huts almost ready

"We want people to come and visit the ingenuity and innovation that the warming huts competition has always fostered, hoping they too will be inspired to think outside the box."

Every year since 2010, hundreds of architects from around the world compete to have their design selected for construction.

This year, two huts and one art installation were chosen by a blind jury from that international competition, while a fourth hut was designed by Rojkind Arquiectos, who came by invitation from Mexico. The competition was announced in July, with over 100 submissions flowing in.

Two huts were created locally, one by students at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture and one from Kelvin high school students.

This year's newest pieces will be joined on the river by 12 huts from previous years, including: Woolhaus, Hygge House, Smokehouse, Skybox, Fir Hut, Apparition, Wood Pile, Under the Covers, Wind Catcher, Red Blanket, Carcass, and Windshield.

The popular skating trail also features the pop-up restaurant RAW:almond and the York Boat Gallery, an art gallery on the ice by Chris and Kine Artist Collective.