This project used traditional building practices to construct a gathering place for passing hikers to rest and take in the surrounding scenery. Perched on a knoll above a flowing stream and adjacent to existing nature preserve hiking trails, the space honors the history of living on and from the land. During the highly iterative design and build process, we had guidance from leaders and members of the Wangunk, Mohegan, Pequot, and Wampanoag tribes.

We stripped and soaked the Massachusetts-harvested eastern red cedar, burned the ends and buried each trunk into the ground. The frame was tied together using the bark we stripped. To allow for ventilation during warm weather, and to substitute the chestnut bark typically used for Wetu sheathing, we designed a modular waxed canvas system. It was tied to the frame at the top, and weighed down with a pocket of sand sewn into the bottom. These flaps could be tied up to act as windows. We harvested and used beech saplings to build hoops that frame the site.