A recyclable timber pavilion designed to mimic wildflowers is among the prototypes built by students at BuildFest 2026, shown in this video produced by Dezeen.
Designed by students from Lehigh University and Syracuse University, Wildflowers uses custom-designed 3D-printed joints to connect timber columns in an X shape that resembles flowers. It can be disassembled for future use.
BuildFest is a 3-day event held on the historic grounds of the 1969 Woodstock festival
The joints are fixed with simple hex bolts that leave three small holes in each piece so they can be removed and reused without damaging the timber.
The installation was part of BuildFest 2026, the fifth edition. The event returned to the historic grounds of the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York and focused on large-scale structures designed to be adapted, dismantled and reused.
The festival marks the first instalment of a three-year curatorial initiative titled Acts of Construction.
Called Act One: Staging, the 2026 edition explored how the structures can accommodate different uses, performances and configurations, with future editions set to reuse and transform them.
At the edge of the forest, Proscenium by the University of Idaho used stump and roundwood rejected by commercial timber milling alongside dimensional lumber.
A timber truss framed a raised stage and suspended curtain, creating a performance space among the trees that recalled the Grand Stage at Woodstock.
Contact Hi-Fi by Cornell University was informed by prefabricated roof trusses and was constructed from pallet wood diverted from waste streams.
The installation featured modular trusses that can be rearranged into 12 configurations, with interchangeable panels featuring sonic transducers and sound-responsive lighting to create a backdrop for performances.
Also by Cornell University was BaleWorks, an installation and infrastructural prototype made from straw bales held within modular timber frames.
The structure doubles as a composting porta-john, bringing together agricultural waste, construction and public infrastructure.
At the festival's pond, the team from the University of California, Los Angeles constructed a floating modular ramp named Flotilla.
The raft could be assembled into a single structure, separated into individual rafts or rearranged to create spaces for performances.
Suspended among the trees, Flying Buttruss by Syracuse University & Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was constructed using lumber, hardware and LED lights reused from last year's BuildFest.
The illuminated timber truss was relocated from the festival's camping ground to the forest, where it was raised between the trees and accompanied by a small bench made from leftover timber.
At night, several pavilions and installations were used for live performances and light shows.
BuildFest brings together students and faculty to design and build timber pavilions and multimedia installations as part of the Bethel Woods Art and Architecture Festival.
The 2026 festival took place over five days, with the installations remaining open to the public through November in Bethel, New York.
The photography is by Breyden Anderson and Kevin Furguson
BuildFest Acts of Construction took place from 9 to 13 September in Bethel, New York, with all installations remaining open until November. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Partnership content
This video was produced by Dezeen as part of a partnership with BuildFest. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
Project credits:
Project name: Wildflowers
Project lead: Hannibal Newson, Christina Chi Zhang & Lauren Scott
University affiliation: Lehigh University & Syracuse University
Project team: Shenandoah DeNardo, Chloe Cheng, Aimi Saloum, Mitchell Ertle, Catherine Sanchez, Teniece Harris, Jacob Hammer, Danna Ochoa, Carson Probert, Selina Yueh, Mia Mueller
Project name: Proscenium
Project lead: Robert Wightman
University affiliation: University of Idaho
Team: Rhys Gallagher, Suzzanne Storhok, Joshua Wells, Luiza Mariotti Roggia, Rivaldo Verano Porta, Cami Heath, Paulina Lopez, Savannah Pratt, Daylene Isley
Project name: Contact Hi-Fi
Project lead: Emma Silverblatt & Ryan Whitby
University affiliation: Cornell University
Team: Reese Greenlee, Ben Adomaitis, Eli Galdston, Taylor-Beth Huff, Geoff Wilkerson, Tong Xue, Ava Dreifke, Brooke Kenworthy, Angelina Guo, Sehyun Choi, Torben Karl, Colin Sutter, Katie Marr, Rhoda Ayele, Daniel Max-Onakpoya, Adam Stein, Yumeng (Angel) Wu
Project name: BaleWorks
Project lead: Marta H. Wisniewska & Regenerative Architecture Lab
University affiliation: Cornell University
Team: Eavan Flanagan, Edozie Onumonu, Felix Heisel, Akua Appiah-Adu, Sebastijan Jemec, Amina Lahham, Bodie Chisum, Helen Bennett, Jasper Owen
Project name: Flotilla
Project lead: Kutan Ayata, Cameron Kursel, Hunter Blackwell
University affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles & University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Team: Owen Flass, Brandt Rentel, Brittany Min, Dalton Owens, Nathan Logan, Alexandra Ferreira, Hannah Bennett, Amber Grovet
Project name: Flying Buttruss
Project lead: Benjamin Vanmuysen
University affiliation: Syracuse University & Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Team: Michael Papagni, Daniel Antonio Velasquez, Gabriela Casciani, Hallie Paige Meyer, Katherine Lily Tang, Chelsea Zhang, Nihar Menon, Allyson Devine, Jack Zhang, Abby Lagana
Project Name: Pour Stop
Project lead: Praveen Menon
University Affiliation: Boston Architectural College
Project name: Switch!
Project lead: Stephanie Sang Delgado, Galo Canizares, Fabio Castellanos & Henry Stankiewicz
University affiliation: Kean University School of Public Architecture & University of Kentucky
Project name: FRAME(D)
Project lead: Austin Lightle
University affiliation: University of Oklahoma
Project name: In the Wings
Project lead: Danny Wills & Morgane Copp
University affiliation: University of Colorado Denver
Project name: St∆cks
Project lead: Kelly Wilton, Andrew Moore
University affiliation: Rochester Institute of Technology
Project name: Skylights
Project lead: Neal Lucas Hitch & Kristina Fisher
University affiliation: Carnegie Mellon University
Project name: CommonGround
Project lead: MERO Studios
University affiliation: Pratt Institute
Project name: Cooking Construction
Project lead: Noémie Despland-Lichtert & Brendan Sullivan Shea
University affiliation: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona & University of Arizona
Project name: The Drawing Banquet
Project lead: Rachel Buse & See Saw Draw