A new embodied architectural experience weaves its way through the Masters of Architecture curriculum at the University of Minnesota, decentralizing the design program at the graduate level - expanding the tool set and design agency of architects. This project, titled the Aspen Bothy, is the catalyst of this new pedagogical experience. Two structures catalyze and support the cyclic and multi-generational experiments at both Rapson Hall and in our state forests. The pro- gram promotes learning through engagement across a variety of scales at which architects have the ability and agency to operate. The first step in the program is taking stock of our natural resources, forming a knowledge base on which to build future architectural decisions.

The students begin by evaluating the state of Minnesota’s natural resources; their findings inform the location and material of their subsequent harvest. Just after winter break, students travel to the chosen state forest to harvest and process trees. Harvesting trees in the winter is beneficial for both the soil conditions of the forest and physical properties of the tree. The sawed lumber is then brought back to Minneapolis, where it is stored under the Drying Pavilion - an all- wood canopy in the east garden of Rapson Hall (the home of the School of Architecture). 

The pavilion is itself and instructor for staking - a 1:1 model for the proper orientation and spacing of different wood types. When the wood is dry (spring) the lumber can be stored within the structure, opening the covered spaces for an outdoor classroom.

The lumber is used, in part, for the annual building project each fall: a bothy. A bothy is an unstocked, unlocked structure left for trekkers. The inaugural bothy takes its name from our most abundant forest resource, aspen trees.

Aspen in Minnesota is mostly used for paper pulp. While there is an abundant amount of saw timber aspen, it is almost all converted into shavings. Leveraging this attribute, the bothy is an assemblage of modular panels, solid-wood boxes which contain the compressed shavings. The walls and plates of the modules are fastened using dowels and brettstapel techniques. The design was influenced by Jacob Mans’ “Carbon Capsules” - which I had the opportunity to construct and build with during this semester.

The all-wood construction techniques of Thoma Holz GmbH was also a point of inspiration. The first portion of this semester began with the construction of 1:1 detail models of various construction drawings. The semester concluded with the construction of a 1:1 detail of the Aspen Bothy. After some time, this bothy would be one of many - forming a statewide-net- work of architecture experiments. These century-long building projects are embodiments of learning for those who participated and those who come after.

This master’s final project was a condensed version of the program I designed for future architecture students. I cut trees, dried them, built aspen panels, constructed a cabin, and brought my own detail to life at full-scale. This exercise in embodied learning expanded my agency for design and trans-scalar thinking.