a quilt-wrapped ice shanty brings color to a frozen minnesota lake

A Quilt shanty on the Ice

Atop the frozen surface of a Minneapolis lake sits this so-called Quilt Shanty, a public art project by artists Emily Quandahl and Madeline Cochran. The temporary structure was installed on January 26th, 2026 for this year’s winter season of the annual Art Shanty Projects program, and reinterprets the regional ice fishing shelter through textile, color, and agricultural form.

From a distance, the curved profile reads as a familiar hoop house, the kind used in gardens and small farms to extend a growing season. Its arched ribs rise directly from the snow-covered lake, forming a simple tunnel volume. What distinguishes it is the skin. Instead of translucent plastic, a patchwork quilt stretches across the frame and wraps the structure in saturated blocks of color that register sharply against the white ice.

image via Emily Quandahl

Agricultural Form as Shelter

The decision to build Quilt Shanty around a hoop house frame establishes a clear architectural logic by artists Emily Quandahl and Madeline Cochran. The lightweight structure relies on evenly-spaced ribs and a tensioned outer layer, to create a stable enclosure with minimal material. That economy feels appropriate for a project sited on a frozen lake, where assembly and disassembly must remain efficient and responsive to weather conditions.

Quandahl constructed the nine by sixteen foot quilt from studio remnants including painted canvas, vinyl, and drop cloth. The surface carries visible seams and varied textures, so the enclosure reads as both building envelope and textile composition. The patchwork does more than decorate the frame. It thickens the wall visually, giving the small shelter a sense of insulation and weight even though the structure itself remains light.

image via Emily Quandahl

Quilt Traditions in Three Dimensions

The artists drew on the visual language of barn quilts, the large painted quilt squares mounted on agricultural buildings throughout the Midwest. Here, that graphic tradition shifts from flat facade to inhabitable volume. The geometry of quilt blocks follows the curve of the hoop house, bending pattern across a continuous surface.

Cochran contributed muslin panels with folk inspired illustrations and a series of wood burned quilt square puzzle pieces placed inside the structure. Visitors can handle these components, arranging and rearranging patterns while standing within the larger quilted enclosure. The activity turns the interior into a working surface. The structure becomes a room for making as much as a room for shelter.

image via Emily Quandahl

Quandahl and Cochran cast glowing colors across the ice

Stepping inside the Quilt Shanty, the light shifts as color filters through stitched panels to cast a soft glow across the snow-packed floor. The curved ribs define a passage that’s wide enough for small groups to gather and talk. The ceiling dips slightly toward the edges, intensifying the sense of enclosure without closing off the view entirely.

Openings at each end frame the lake and surrounding trees, maintaining a visual connection to the broader landscape. Wind moves audibly across the quilted skin to remind visitors of the climate beyond the fabric. As the structure mediates between exposure and comfort, it offers a contained interior while remaining fully embedded in the wintery landscape.

image via Emily Quandahl