- Architecture & development
The visitor pavilion Xylem is the latest addition to the Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana, USA, designed by Kéré Architecture. Here visitors are in the heart of nature. Surrounded by trees, they come closer to nature, to each other and to themselves.
Founder Francis Kéré designed the pavilion as a quiet, protective shelter for visitors of the Tippet Rise Art Center. The name Xylem is a perfect reflection of the design and purpose. Xylem namely is a type of transport tissue in vascular plants, including trees. It transports water and nutrients to the stems and leaves. 'Named to evoke the vital internal layers of a tree’s living structure, Xylem is a place where visitors may gather to converse, contemplate the views of the aspen and cottonwood trees near the bank of Grove Creek, or sit and meditate in solitude,’ the architectural studio notes. 
Xylem unites architecture and nature
The pavilion is made entirely out of tree logs and thus invites visitors to enter the heart of the trees. In Tippet Rise you are confronted with nature and all its grandeur and beauty. Xylem contributes to this intimate contact with nature and trees in particular. The design consists of durable pine wood in its raw appearance derived from a natural pruning process. The logs are grouped in circular bundles which creates a unique architecture on all sides. The sun's rays coming through the vertical trunks create a beautiful play of shadow and light. A beautiful and very unique project that unites nature and architecture. 
Designer: Francis Kéré - designed Xylem at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana, 2019.
Images courtesy of Tippet Rise.
Photography: Iwan Baan.