the ANT at Letchworth State Park
Winner of the 2024 AIA Rochester Grand Honor Award and the 2022 Upstate ASLA Honor Award.
ANTidote: Nature Therapy By Design
Design doesn’t stop at a building’s threshold. In America’s first Autism Nature Trail, it’s all about thresholds.
We translated autism consultants’ advice into built form along this mile-long trail. Boundary, frame, marker and room aid those on the spectrum in experiencing the forest.
Gateways. The trail is a gateway to nature appreciation, beginning at the Trailhead Pavilion. This literal portal’s familiar gable-roofed form signals welcome. Its stone, wood and steel palette anticipates the interventions to come. It may be the farthest some first-time visitors get.
Boundaries. Proceeding to a station is a choice. Visitors with autism can choose to cross the threshold onto the forest floor — or not.
Frames. Each station amplifies its place. The Sensory Station’s two L-shaped pavilions bracket a forest floor peppered with nuts, cones, sticks, stones, blooms, and
bones. Their sheltered shelving dynamically displays found objects, framing and echoing the irregular branching of surrounding evergreens.
Markers. Stone piers describe what lies beyond each station’s “exit ramp.” Predictable and tactile, they echo chimney ruins elsewhere in the park.
Rooms. Several stations are naturally enclosed by the forest. The Reflection Knoll is a dark room of stones and branches. The Design Station — a natural maker- space — is ‘roofed’ by a single evergreen, the ground ‘carpeted’ with pine needles.
Paths. Those who make it this far can traverse the Playful Path. Numerous interweaving natural materials invite visitors to test textures underfoot, while a central lane lets them bypass uncomfortable surfaces.
Portal. The loop concludes at the Celebration Station — the other half of the iconic Trailhead Pavilion. We welcome walkers back to wait for stragglers, empty their pockets, and mark the chalkboard.
This two-way portal transitions visitors back to pavement, parking and people, with the benefit of nature therapy at their comfort level: ANT as antidote.
For more information or to visit: www.autismnaturetrail.com
Landscape Architect: Trowbridge Wolf Michaels (also renderings and autumn photos)
Play Consultant: Earthplay
Engineer: WSP
Photography: Tim Wilkes Photography
General Contractor: Titan Development
Comments from the AIA Design Jury (out of Cincinnati): This is a solid project in all aspects. The narrative explains just enough that you understand and the language is wonderful. The drawings were beautiful. The project works at all levels - zoomed out has a clearly defined hierarchy of the network, and each individual pavilion has a resolution and purpose so that even if you don’t complete the loop, it still makes sense. The materiality details how the pieces relate to each other and the trail. Each station amplifies its space. It’s easy to imagine coming back here each season to experience it in a different way. Additionally, the equity the project offers to those with different abilities is commendable.