Better Place Forests
An elevated timber pavilion by OpenScope Studio nestled within a dense redwood forest, showcasing how vertical wood siding and raised foundations minimize site disturbance.
- What we like about this project
- The central open-air cutout seamlessly stitches the exterior forest right through the middle of the built volume.
Materials
- timber
- metal
- glass
Visual identifiers
- timber-cladding
- elevated-stilts
- recessed-porch
- forest-setting
Style tags
- contemporary
- rustic
- site-responsive
Visual tags
- elevated
- wood-pavilion
- nature-integration
- rural
- canopy-light
- Geometry
- Rectangular volume raised on slender stilts, featuring vertical board cladding and a recessed central outdoor porch framing the forest backdrop.
- Facade system
- Vertical timber batten cladding with a central cut-out porch and railing.
- Structural guess
- Light wood frame supported on metal or concrete piers/stilts.
- Spatial scale
- Single-story pavilion elevated slightly above grade, dwarfed by towering mature trees.
- Lighting
- Bright backlight from the sun filtering through the canopy, creating strong sunbursts and casting deep shadows across the forest floor.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and atmospheric, defined by filtered sunlight and the vertical rhythm of trees and wood slats.
- Environmental context
- Dense forest setting with tall vertical tree trunks and understory plantings surrounding the elevated structure.
- Spatial experience
- Approached through dense vertical tree trunks, the pavilion reads as a floating wooden platform that extends the forest floor into a sheltered clearing.
- Composition rhythm
- Strong vertical rhythm established by the tall tree trunks, mirrored in the vertical wood board-and-batten facade.
- Style reading
- Contemporary regional rustic pavilion
- Program
- Forest visitor center or memorial pavilion
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- timber, metal, glass
- Visual identifiers
- timber-cladding, elevated-stilts, recessed-porch, forest-setting
- Style tags
- contemporary, rustic, site-responsive
- Visual tags
- elevated, wood-pavilion, nature-integration, rural, canopy-light
- Geometry
- Rectangular volume raised on slender stilts, featuring vertical board cladding and a recessed central outdoor porch framing the forest backdrop.
- Facade system
- Vertical timber batten cladding with a central cut-out porch and railing.
- Structural guess
- Light wood frame supported on metal or concrete piers/stilts.
- Spatial scale
- Single-story pavilion elevated slightly above grade, dwarfed by towering mature trees.
- Lighting
- Bright backlight from the sun filtering through the canopy, creating strong sunbursts and casting deep shadows across the forest floor.
- Atmosphere
- Serene and atmospheric, defined by filtered sunlight and the vertical rhythm of trees and wood slats.
- Environmental context
- Dense forest setting with tall vertical tree trunks and understory plantings surrounding the elevated structure.
- Spatial experience
- Approached through dense vertical tree trunks, the pavilion reads as a floating wooden platform that extends the forest floor into a sheltered clearing.
- Composition rhythm
- Strong vertical rhythm established by the tall tree trunks, mirrored in the vertical wood board-and-batten facade.
- Style reading
- Contemporary regional rustic pavilion
- Program
- Forest visitor center or memorial pavilion
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture