Superior Zoo

A 1,900-SF timber-framed, open-air pavilion at Lake Superior Zoo—playful split roof, warm plywood under a dark corrugated shell—sited above Kingsbury Creek to host community events and reconnect visitors to the landscape.

Superior Zoo

A 1,900-SF timber-framed, open-air pavilion at Lake Superior Zoo—playful split roof, warm plywood under a dark corrugated shell—sited above Kingsbury Creek to host community events and reconnect visitors to the landscape.

Superior Zoo

A 1,900-SF timber-framed, open-air pavilion at Lake Superior Zoo—playful split roof, warm plywood under a dark corrugated shell—sited above Kingsbury Creek to host community events and reconnect visitors to the landscape.

Open air, open intent — a pavilion tuned to site and stream.

Set on a 40+ acre campus carved by Kingsbury Creek, the pavilion balances ecology and gathering. It’s open-air by design—framing breeze, shade, and sound—so the creek, field, and rocky terrain become part of every event. Orientation is deliberate: long views to the grassed meadow and water; easy access from trails; a footprint light enough to sit with the land rather than on it. The brief was to host weddings, celebrations, and community moments without losing the feeling of being outside. The architecture keeps that promise: shelter where you need it, sky where you want it.

Year _2024
Location _Duluth, MN
Renderings _NOMINN

Duluth

Fairmount — creeks, canopy, and West Duluth roots.

In West Duluth’s Fairmount neighborhood, Grand Avenue threads between Keene and Kingsbury Creeks, linking homes, parks, and the Lake Superior Zoo. Trails, dog parks, and steep topography shape daily life here—green corridors where water and city overlap. The pavilion sits within that network as a welcoming waypoint: easy to reach, open to the air, and sized for neighborhood-scale celebration.

Renderings