Tekαkαpimək Visitor Contact Station
Situated in the present and traditional homeland of the Penobscot Nation, Tekαkαpimək Visitor Contact Station is a stunning 7,900 square-foot building and 23-acre landscape atop Lookout Mountain in Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
Tekαkαpimək — pronounced deh gah-gah bee mook, Penobscot for “as far as one can see” — arose from a partnership between a Wabanaki Advisory Board and Elliotsville Foundation, in consultation with National Park Service. Tekαkαpimək is a work of collaborative design and construction, intentionally imbued with Wabanaki knowledge.
Architectural and landscape designs resulted from a process between Elliotsville Foundation, representatives of the Mi’kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe; Saunders Architecture, Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture, WeShouldDoItAll, and National Park Service (NPS). A multitude of thoughts, cultural narratives, and ideas have formed a collective lens with Wabanaki sensibilities, helping orient the interior, landscape and exhibit design of the Contact Station, as epicenter of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
Location
Penobscot County, Maine
Dates
2019-2024
Size
23 acres
Leadership
Team
- Elliotsville Foundation
- National Park Service
- Jennifer Sapiel Neptune
- James Francis, Sr
- Tuhura Communications
- Saunders Architecture
- Arlsberg Parker
- Erin Hutton Projects
- WeShouldDoItAll
- Split Rock Studios
Recognition
- “ How The Woman Behind Burt’s Bees Turned Lip Balm Profits Into Land Preservation ,” Forbes
- “As Far As One Can See” At Katahdin Woods And Waters National Monument , National Parks Traveler