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Reunion with the Natural World. On the ceremonial occasion of a funeral, Beth Israel Chapel offers a rare, dignified encounter with the natural world—weather, seasons, the passage of time, breezes, birdsong. Sophisticated passive design techniques create a comfortable outdoor shelter and a tranquil sanctuary in Houston’s harsh heat and humidity. This project from our archives was executed as Daniel Solomon Design Partners with Gary Strang. 📷: Tim Hurley

Posted: 12.03.2021

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Situated above the edge of Mission Creek under a canopy of specimen oak and sycamore trees, the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion serves as a gateway to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s outdoor learning areas. The pavilion’s organic shape is informed by the habits of butterflies, which are unable to navigate out of 90-degree corners. The new structure and grounds are designed for reconfiguration to accommodate rotating exhibits, events and educational programs about local native habitat, environmental stewardship and connecting children with nature. Designed as Schacht Aslani Architects, in association with DJA Architects. 📷: Matt Wier

Posted: 12.02.2021

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The National Elk Refuge visitor center viewing deck connects via the Cutbank Trail to the Murie Family Natural Area, providing opportunities for quieter wildlife viewing and contemplation. Interpretive opportunities are brought into the ​restored natural landscape through a series of low lying viewing decks and a secluded bird blind for immersive, all-season wildlife viewing experiences. Image by @plo.mp for Mithun

Posted: 11.24.2021

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Every year, hundreds of birds, mammals and other species migrate across the hemisphere and continent to the 25,000-acre National Elk Refuge. Thousands of elk visit the vast open valley near the visitor center in the winter! In addition to extensive natural habitat for this wildlife, the visitor center building and landscape set up a threshold and contrast between taut building elements that meet the town fabric (visible in the distance) and the more ​transparent façade that engages visually and physically with the refuge landscape of meadow ecosystems sculpted by meandering streams. Image by @plo.mp for Mithun

Posted: 11.23.2021

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Mithun is working with a unique interagency partnership on a new visitor center for The National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming! A gateway to the national park and larger 35,000-square-mile Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, this replacement facility weaves exhibit and educational programming with visitor services and information to connect people with the natural world. The center is a unique national model of interagency collaboration between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Grand Teton Association, Grand Teton National Park, National Elk Refuge, Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce and Wyoming Game & Fish that unites staffing, programs and organizational visions into a collective whole. Image by @plo.mp for Mithun

Posted: 11.23.2021

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This South Bay campus features active trails and transit connectivity embedded in a native ecology. Drifts of Wooly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum) support native pollinator habitat on this site, the first in Mountain View served by recycled irrigation water. 📷: Tom Fitzgerald Learn more about the Mithun R+D Pollination Innovation study: https://mithun.com/r-d-project/pollination-innovation/ (clickable link in bio).

Posted: 11.20.2021

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We’ve been on site this week shooting photos of Casa Adelante at 2060 Folsom and can’t wait to share! This preview looks down into the central courtyard, which features hardscape pattern and rockeries that reference the old Mission Creek that once flowed at the site. Plantings make use of the highly permeable subgrade, providing naturalized stormwater function that echoes how the creek would have drained the neighborhood. Native California sycamore trees planted with structural soil cells provide excellent carbon sequestration and welcome shade for seating areas. 📷: Annie Rummelhoff

Posted: 11.20.2021