This residential treatment facility for children between ages 9 and 17 reimagines therapeutic living for children facing emotional and behavioral challenges. Designed for minimal impact, the Cottage blends resilience and openness, with durable concrete block walls clad in metal panels. A glazed communal lounge dissolves boundaries between indoors and outdoors, framing views of rolling grasses, pines, and a tranquil lake. Rooted in its rural Southern landscape, this prototype for community-building fosters healing through nature, connection, and thoughtful design—proving that architecture can be both a refuge and a path to renewal. 

Movement throughout all interior and exterior spaces is delicately guided by a continuous twenty-two-foot-tall cypress wood “canopy”, which serves as the main organizing element in the design. This element extends to welcome residents from the campus, moves through the interior of the cottage, and continues outwards, framing the lake and the sloping terrain. This singular horizontal move, floating above the lakeside lawn, anchors the cottage along the daily processional route back and forth between educational, communal, and dwelling pavilions.

Explore the full project here.