The prairie pavilion is an outdoor educational space that serves two purposes, located adjacent to an 18 acre native prairie and a student run “fuel” garden. The structure acts as a meeting point for prairie tours by providing a shaded shelter to deliver educational content. The pavilion also supports the adjacent student run garden as an outdoor teaching and learning space. The purpose of the garden is to grow fresh produce for a campus food pantry, which attempts to address issues of food insecurity on campus.
The prairie pavilion creates a visual identity for the adjacent garden, while serving as an educational structure to promote public awareness of the campus natural areas and garden’s healthy food production. The pavilion takes its aesthetic cues from the adjacent prairie, framing views of the ever changing natural backdrop, while proving shade and seating areas for education.
This structure was designed and built by 15 community college architecture students during an eight week summer design b
