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So we asked four leading local architectural firms — HDR; Bahr Vermeer & Haecker; Leo A. Daly; and Min/Day — to submit plans for, both literally and figuratively, the coolest snow forts, snow parks and snow sculpture habitats in town.
Their designs are all conceptual — nothing has actually been built. Still, all of the projects are practical, not theoretical, meaning the firms could quickly build them for clients.
The designs will appear on this page periodically this month. Later, we'll ask readers to vote online for their favorite design.
Architects James Leach and Kris Nelson were driving home after a snowstorm when they noticed a beautiful natural phenomenon.
Winds whipping from the north had sculpted snow on a hillside into a series of small mounds. To Nelson, those shapes seemed vaguely familiar.
“I did an Internet search and found that fresh blowing snow acts just like sand,” said Nelson. “And under the right conditions, blowing snow will form snow dunes.”
The image of a habitat on a frozen desert was the inspiration for Leach and Nelson's conceptual snow fort. The World-Herald asked four local architectural firms to submit plans for snow forts, snow parks and ice sculptures.
Leach and Nelson, husband-and-wife architects with Omaha firm Leo A. Daly, responded with Drifthouse.
Their small, low-tech and environmentally friendly design is in keeping with their architectural philosophy.
They are big supporters of a trend called “compact living” and believe people can benefit from living in smaller, more energy-efficient homes constructed from eco-friendly materials.
Drifthouse envisions nature doing much of the construction work.
“We see our design as a collaboration between people and the environment,” said Leach.
Work begins with the creation of a structure that Nelson calls an “intervention.” It's basically a curved wall of snow that bulges to the north.
Northern winds will begin depositing snow at the base of the wall. After about a week, the snow will begin to form a sand dune-shaped drift around the wall. After about two weeks, the snowdrift will resemble the elegant crescent shape of a breaking ocean wave.
Snow on the northern side will be hard and icy due to the cold winds — making a sturdy exterior shell. Snow on the south side will be subjected more to sun and therefore softer and more malleable.
“Snow on the southern wall should be soft enough to scoop out with a cup or even your mittens,” said Nelson. “The hollowed-out area would create a cozy shelter from the wind and snow.”
The architects said they wanted to design a snow fort that would be easy enough for children to make. They also intended to create a shape that was deliberately nondescript.
“We didn't want to design a structure that looked exactly like a fort or a castle or anything too specific,” said Nelson. “It was important to us that kids use their imaginations, so they can pretend the Drifthouse is a fort, a spaceship — whatever.”
While doing their research, Nelson and Leach discovered an extraterrestrial cousin of the sand dune.
The planet Mars boasts an ocean's worth of frozen dunes on its surface, said Leach. The Mars dunes inspired the architects to create a secondary conceptual design for a field of multiple Drifthouses.
“We had this vision of Memorial Park covered with Drifthouses,” said Leach. “Hopefully people will one day build them there.”
Contact the writer:
444-1076, john.pitcher@owh.com
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