This proposal for a gateway that marks the entrance to a conserved wilderness area in Latvia encompasses camping grounds, housing for staff, and workplaces for scientists. A deck that hovers 3m above ground level makes the landscape legible through the imposition of a grid through which to measure and understand nature.
Inquiries into soil, birds, and plantings, as well as other species, can be made from either level. Sunlight penetrates through the grid of the deck and through the larger openings that accommodate tree growth. The modularity of the deck system allows for adjustments to the grid and for the application of wood decking over it in selected areas. Wood from the Latvian region is used in the construction of the individual enclosures, which provide conditioned program and, simultaneously, structure for the hovering deck above.
