Drawing inspiration from the swirling contours and layered profiles of Northern California’s topography, our team sought to understand how the earth’s natural curvature might inspire a three-dimensional form that brings people into a deeper connection with nature.
We sketched, debated, and prototyped in a circular rhythm to merge our love for the outdoors with our university’s landscape, borrowing from the discipline of landscape architecture to ground our design principles. Guided by conversations with external advisors and community members, we learned how people connect with the outdoors and how those experiences shape their relationship with nature.
Inspired by Design for Manufacturing principles, in which tools shape form and form shapes process, Terranthro emerged as a structural embodiment of lifting earth’s topography to hug every curve. Composed of sustainably sourced sapele and aluminum frames, we built Terranthro to provide our community with a physical space for reconnection—a place to sit and engage in reflection however they choose—because we believe in the universal truth that people deserve comfort and choice when they immerse themselves in nature.
