For more than a decade, a number of public and private groups have worked alongside one another to piece together a series of properties, easements, and land use agreements which collectively have become known as Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness. Through collaborative planning efforts, a broad trail and greenway system has emerged, linking a series of important historic and cultural sites to others that serve to re-connect the city while engaging narratives and places that are rooted in Knoxville’s cultural and industrial histories. Now spanning 1000 acres, Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness has become a premier outdoor destination just minutes away from Knoxville’s urban core.
The Baker Creek Pavilion is a catalytic anchor within the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park project that is transforming the James White Parkway into a 2.2 mile and 112-acre gateway to the Urban Wilderness, an expansive urban trail system in South Knoxville. The pavilion serves as a shade structure at the entry to the multi-use trails and world-class bike park located at Baker Creek Preserve. The pavilion provides amenities including bathrooms, integrated wayfinding, and family gathering spaces. The pavilion frames a large sloping lawn and the cantilevered portion of the steel structure provides uninterrupted views during events at Baker Creek Preserve. Clad in perforated corten steel, the new structure references the region’s industrial heritage while serving as a porous civic hub that is accessible from all directions of the site.
The Baker Creek Pavilion is designed to support daily functions as well as seasonal events such as the Appalachian Mountain Biking Club Fall Festival which brings people to Knoxville from around the country. Overall, the project is representative of Knoxville’s stake in national leadership in design excellence at both planning and architectural scales.
