What was the inspiration for the design of Northern Sky Circle?
Our first inclination was to prefabricate a sauna [in Vancouver] and drive it to Alaska as part of experiencing Alaska as a place. But we started thinking more about the snow and weather as a material and decided to embrace the unpredictable nature of the snow and the opportunities it would bring for onsite improvisation. At the beach in August, we started thinking of the sand as akin to snow in terms of material and as a landscape. We started shaping the sand, designing intuitively with our hands. The idea was to create an experience whereby people could transition from the ubiquitous forms of the city through our abstraction of the northern landscape into a secluded and intimate gathering space. The inner space naturally became circular as a place to gather around a fire, and for the tops of the walls to frame the light of the northern sky. Where are you in the picture of the prototype on the beach? The beach is in Tofino, one of our favorite places in the world. Tofino is a small co
