hump day happy place: ice retreat.

Today's happy place is a portable structure designed by emerging architectural practice, Gartnerfuglen of Norway. Designed as a retreat from the cold, the structure can be erected by one or two people in under a minute. The walls are made of chicken wire, which when dipped into the lake form walls of ice.

Upon closer inspection, I realize that this space is actually quite cramped and the structure is on the rudimentary side. I don't imagine it would be particularly warm or weatherproof either. Despite all this,what this space does do very successfully is invite play. It conjures up childhood memories of building cubby houses with sheets and dining chairs. Remember those days? It's a bit like life sized dolls house, complete with teapot and and fluffy shag pile rug.

Images via Metalocus. Photography by Astrid Rohde Wang and Olav Lunde Arneberg.