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Tekαkαpimək Contact Station
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station
Swift Brook Rd, Stacyville, ME, United States
Finalist, 2025 A+Awards, Built - Sustainable Cultural Building
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Other Projects by Saunders Architecture
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station
Swift Brook Rd, Stacyville, ME, United States
Finalist, 2025 A+Awards, Built - Sustainable Cultural Building
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2024
SIZE
5000 sqft - 10,000 sqft
BUDGET
Unknown
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is a stunning 7,900 square-foot building and 23-acre site in Penobscot Homeland atop Lookout Mountain created to welcome the global public to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine. Tekαkαpimək is a Penobscot language word for “as far as one can see”, pronounced deh gah-gah bee mook. Architectural, landscape and exhibition designs for Tekαkαpimək resulted from a uniquely collaborative process with representatives of the Wabanaki Nations - comprised of Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot Nations. Legal protections for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property shared in this process are a critical innovation of the project.
The building’s design trajectory shifted from one of a colonial lens to one based on Wabanaki sensibilities, with site design informed by the four directions and deploying curvature throughout. Nature illuminates the interior of the building: punched windows at various heights set within thick walls and large expanses of bird-safe glass facing the four cardinal directions provide a dynamic play of light across the interiors. Three fireplaces, combined with the Douglas fir interior, provide warmth and comfort for visitors.
State-of-the-art green technology in the building demonstrates a significantly reduced carbon footprint relative to other buildings of its scale. Tekαkαpimək utilizes local materials in every possible instance, is fully off-grid, solar and thermal powered, and maximizes passive design strategies for heating and cooling. Innovative use of nominal lumber casts a light on the emerging sustainable bio-economy.
Tekαkαpimək features vistas across the rugged landscape of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, while remaining hidden from explorers below. An eastern lookout and gathering circle allow visitors to greet the day's first light, reflecting Wabanaki traditions - the “People of the Dawn.” Tekαkαpimək’s waysides and exhibits orient visitors to the monument through Wabanaki artistry, honoring the past and showing vibrant communities moving sustainably into the future.
All Wabanaki Cultural Knowledge and Intellectual Property shared within this project is owned by the Wabanaki Nations.
The building’s design trajectory shifted from one of a colonial lens to one based on Wabanaki sensibilities, with site design informed by the four directions and deploying curvature throughout. Nature illuminates the interior of the building: punched windows at various heights set within thick walls and large expanses of bird-safe glass facing the four cardinal directions provide a dynamic play of light across the interiors. Three fireplaces, combined with the Douglas fir interior, provide warmth and comfort for visitors.
State-of-the-art green technology in the building demonstrates a significantly reduced carbon footprint relative to other buildings of its scale. Tekαkαpimək utilizes local materials in every possible instance, is fully off-grid, solar and thermal powered, and maximizes passive design strategies for heating and cooling. Innovative use of nominal lumber casts a light on the emerging sustainable bio-economy.
Tekαkαpimək features vistas across the rugged landscape of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, while remaining hidden from explorers below. An eastern lookout and gathering circle allow visitors to greet the day's first light, reflecting Wabanaki traditions - the “People of the Dawn.” Tekαkαpimək’s waysides and exhibits orient visitors to the monument through Wabanaki artistry, honoring the past and showing vibrant communities moving sustainably into the future.
All Wabanaki Cultural Knowledge and Intellectual Property shared within this project is owned by the Wabanaki Nations.
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