Size:
734 m2

Location:
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine, USA

Status:
Completed 2024

In the present and traditional homeland of the Penobscot Nation, Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is a stunning 734 m2 interpretive environment welcoming the global public to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in northern Maine. In consultation with the U.S. National Park Service, Tekαkαpimək (Dah-gaga-bee-mok), Penobscot for “as far as one can see”, is imbued with Indigenous knowledges from the Wabanaki Nations: Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe – Sipayik and Motahkomikuk, and Penobscot Nation. It intentionally incorporates cultural narratives, languages, images, kinship relations, ancestral representations, contemporary practices, and native materials of these lands and waters. The project was conceived as a gift by Maine-based Roxanne Quimby and Elliotsville Foundations, who selected Norway-based Saunders Architecture.

Tekαkαpimək reimagines our relationship with our natural and cultural landscapes, building in balance with challenging terrain, designing with Indigenous sensibilities, and mustering a local workforce in harsh conditions to solve for structural integrity and beauty. Contending with the painful history of settler-colonialism, cross-cultural experiences of growing trust and creativity have emerged: a confluence of people showing a way forward. Tekαkαpimək is a collective expression: Wabanaki; designers and builders; philanthropists; and the woods, waters, and their many inhabitants. We hope that like nature, it gives more than it takes.

All Wabanaki Cultural Knowledge and Intellectual Property shared within this project is owned by the Wabanaki Nations.

Credits:
Todd Saunders with Ryan Jorgensen and Éva Baráth

Visualization:
Mir, Jakub Trcka

Photographer:
James Florio

Awards and Recognition:
AZ Awards, Social Good, Winner, 2025

AZ Awards, Buildings under 1000 sqm, People's Choice, 2025

Architizer A+ Award, Sustainable Cultural Building, Finalist, 2025

Dezeen Awards, Cultural Projects, Shortlisted, 2025

Architecture Hunter Awards, Institutional Facilities, Shortlisted, 2025

ENR New England Regional Best Projects Awards, Best Regional Projects of 2025, Winner, 2025

ENR New England Regional Best Projects Awards, Excellence in Sustainability, Winner, 2025