http://cargocollective.com/jenniferdowland/warming-huts-competition

The VORTEX project aims to critically examine how one gets warm in a warming hut while bringing a typically private affair out into a public viewing. The concept of VORTEX arose from a strategy of looking into the phenomena of radiant heating and how to reflect back the energy to aid in additional warming. The use of parabolic shapes can not only deflect thermal energy but depending on shape can focus the thermal radiation which includes visible light. When bouncing and focusing the light and energy eddies form in the flow or vortices are created. It is our intention to put the vortices on stage by using reflective paraboloids that aid in heating at the same time producing an interactive light show, a VORTEX theater. To accomplish this we stood the box up on it's end and inserted simply framed parabolic paraboloids sheathed in a radiant barrier that will bounce heat and light. We left two sides of the box on to face the wind to keep the chill at bay and lowered two sides to the ground to create a theater for the vortices as well as catch the light and heat. The visitor can passively be warmed by the light and radiant heat show by sitting on the benches or they can interact with the vortices by venturing into, disrupting and changing the reflections and eddies and creating their own VORTEX, warming all the senses.