Brachiosaurus Tent

By Bahar Ziraknejad

Brachiosaurus Tent is a wooden pavilion for viewing an old growth tree located at the Evans Lake Forest Education Centre, near Squamish, British Columbia. The tree is the 9th largest in BC and is approximately 400 years old. This facility accommodates 18 children and provides a space for educational activities and overnight camping. The name Brachiosaurus – a genus of dinosaur with a bulky body and long neck – was inspired by an initial sketch of this viewing facility which resembled the silhouette of this dinosaur trying to compete with the height of the old tree. The relation between the dinosaur and the old tree reflects the fact that they are both very old creatures: one being extinct, and the other one still alive but requiring additional care for survival and to remain healthy. Using a popular creature like a dinosaur – which mother earth has lost – I hope to remind children to be respectful and caring for the old tree, and therefore not to walk on its roots. In memory of those extinct dinosaurs, this wooden shelter embraces the children in the belly of this imaginary Brachiosaurus to learn about this old tree, and keeps them away from its roots.

Also, the gridshell structure of this pavilion with its thin beams crossing over each other is in harmony with the small tree branches of the Evans Lake camp. These branches are tangled together and fully covered by mosses so that the wood is barely visible. Eventually this wooden pavilion also may be fully covered by mosses, and blend even more with the surrounding nature.