CAN YOU IMAGINE A GROVE OF TREES STANDING ON A RIVER ?

"Winter Garden" is a temporary site specific art installation for the frozen Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail, at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - an artificial grove that will be installed inside the ice layers. 

"Winter Garden" is a place for play and pause between the trees, an open playground along the skating trail for the people of Winnipeg.

This artificial grove will create a surrealistic, surprising and picturesque scene, emphasizing the transformation of water into solid ground at winter times. 

WHO

We are Roy and Noa from Tel Aviv, Israel. We are both architects, but side by side with our architectural endeavors we also work on art projects and installations, primarily ones that engage and impact the public space. Last year we won the 2011 "Warming Huts - Art + Architecture competition on ice", where we designed and built the "Woodpile", a unique shelter for the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail, the world's longest natural skating trail in the city of Winnipeg, Canada.

For us, living in the never ending summer of the Middle East, the snowy landscape of Canada and walking on ice for the first time in our lives was an overwhelming experience. Deeply inspired by that, we came up with an idea for the "Winter Garden" project.

HOW

Winter Garden will be placed on the frozen Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail. It will be a public event - a place for stop and play for the thousands of visitors skating along the trail.

The installation will be comprised of 16 trees that will be organized in a grid pattern, resembling an artificial grove. Each tree is to be put in a hole that will be drilled in the ice and held with a special ring that will fix it in position.

We intend to make re-use of dead trees for the installation. By that we use the trees once again in their natural form in order to create a unique landscape for the benefit of Winnipeg's public space and reduce the project's ecological footprint.

WHEN

Winter Garden is planned to be installed together with this year's new warming huts at the end of January 2012, which is really soon!

YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY

We contacted "The Forks Foundation" which operates and maintains the river trail, and they enthusiastically gave their support for realizing the project, but cannot take over the entire costs of the installation.

That's where you have an opportunity in making this vision of Winter Garden a reality together with us! We are trying to raise another $5000 which should cover most of the expenses. You can contribute according to each of the categories written on the upper right side of this page, and to be rewarded accordingly. Another great thing you can do for Winter Garden is help us reach as many people as possible by sending this to everyone you know.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COLLABORATION !

SEE YOU AT WINTER GARDEN !