The Value of Design Competitions; Warming Huts Competition 2016,
(even when your entry is not selected)
REMNANTS
We went down to the river Jimmy and I. We were always free here. Free
from the watchful eyes of adults, from rules and from homework. We found some
lumber and plywood, a steel drum. “Let’s start a fire in the barrel!” We scavenged down the bank. I found this
round thing buried in the mud. Jimmy thinks it the top end of a smoke stack
from an old paddle wheel boat.
We built a lean-to; Jimmy called it a Tee Pee. More drums formed a smoke
stack and we capped it with the river boat top. We danced believing ourselves a
part of a noble tribe. We played with reckless abandon. We held court, we waged
wars, we talked about girls.
Mom and Dad and Sis would never understand this place, always so
proper. I was always so warm here. I
wonder what ever became of Jimmy.
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Architecture at its heart is about artfully crafting
space for a function. It is about place making. Place making is about
connecting to people on some emotional, spiritual, intellectual or visceral
level. When one decides to enter a competition like the Warming Huts
Competition you must commit to an idea. You start in the ether, ground zero,
and you engage your process. Who? What? Where? Why? You let your mind wander, you
play with some ideas.
One of the ideas; lets recycle some material, let’s
use 50 gallon recycled drums to create a fire place. What could that become? Maybe
we should add a lean-to shelter opposite the wind. A narrative story starts to emerge. The work
starts to connect to my experience as a child, then our history. What if we
fold this form? Keep it simple. An “Ah Ha!”, moment and we add some more
history, a bit of drama. The nascent work becomes something that connects. We
push forward. We had fun with the reminiscent nature of the narrative and
allowed the final graphics to playfully express a different time and place.
Through a process that was focused on artful expression
and less focused on building program we came
to understand a bit more of ourselves as architects and designers. We completed
an exercise that allowed us to expand the way we look at architecture and this has
been the real value for us. By participating we became better at what we do. In
the end, we had not fully abandoned our pragmatism and the resultant work fit
with a program. It fit to an idea that we were creating a place of warmth both
literally and metaphorically. Even though we were not selected we have taken
pride in our work and thought we would share it with those who are interested.
For the public as they engage the selected projects they
will also be given the opportunity to ask the questions. Why do we build? How
do we create place? In our creative endeavour how do we connect with our common humanity?
This is the value of a competition such as this.
Congratulations to Peter Hargraves and the rest of the
jury for another successful competition. We look forward to seeing the selected
projects on the river in the New Year.
John van Leeuwen,
