Size:
734 m2

Location:
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine, USA

Status:
In Progress

In the present and traditional homeland of the Penobscot Nation, Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is a stunning 734 m2 interpretive environment welcoming the global public to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in northern Maine. In consultation with the U.S. National Park Service, Tekαkαpimək (Dah-gaga-bee-mok), Penobscot for “as far as one can see”, is imbued with Indigenous knowledges from the Wabanaki Nations: Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe – Sipayik and Motahkomikuk, and Penobscot Nation. It intentionally incorporates cultural narratives, languages, images, kinship relations, ancestral representations, contemporary practices, and native materials of these lands and waters. The project was conceived as a gift by Maine-based Roxanne Quimby and Elliotsville Foundations, who selected Norway-based Saunders Architecture.

Tekαkαpimək reimagines our relationship with our natural and cultural landscapes, building in balance with challenging terrain, designing with Indigenous sensibilities, and mustering a local workforce in harsh conditions to solve for structural integrity and beauty. Contending with the painful history of settler-colonialism, cross-cultural experiences of growing trust and creativity have emerged: a confluence of people showing a way forward. Tekαkαpimək is a collective expression: Wabanaki; designers and builders; philanthropists; and the woods, waters, and their many inhabitants. We hope that like nature, it gives more than it takes.

Credits:
Todd Saunders with Ryan Jorgensen and Éva Baráth

Visualization:
Mir, Jakub Trcka