Cedar Grove Pavilion

The Brief

A community foundation needed a gathering space for 120 people — concerts, town halls, weddings — on a hillside overlooking Mount Hood. The site was a cedar grove. The foundation’s only non-negotiable: not a single tree could be removed.

The Study

We mapped every tree over 12 inches in diameter. The building footprint had to thread between them. We also studied how sound traveled in outdoor amphitheaters in the Columbia River Gorge — the wind patterns were as important as the acoustics.

The Response

The pavilion is a timber frame that touches the ground at just six points. A curved roof channels wind over the audience rather than through it. Cedar shingles harvested from the grove’s natural thinning cover the exterior — the building wears the same material as the forest.

The Result

The foundation reports the space is booked 48 weeks a year. Musicians praise the natural acoustics. Most visitors say the same thing: “It feels like the building grew here.”