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The Navajo Cultural Conservation Pavilion is an architectural initiative that
celebrates and preserves Dine Art and its four foundational elements: Identity,
Environment, Storytelling, and Community. This project features a series of mobile,
prefabricated pavilions that honor the art of oral storytelling within the Navajo culture.
Traveling across the Chinle, Western, and Shiprock Agencies during the autumn and
winter months - when storytelling is traditionally practiced - these pavilions serve
as dynamic community hubs. Here, individuals can unite to share stories, exchange
knowledge, and commemorate the rich cultural legacy of the Navajo people. Ideally, the
project’s traveling component will be led by the community’s youth and young adults.
Emphasizing openness and connection, the pavilions welcome visitors to engage with
the spaces and one another. The design accommodates a range of storytelling formats,
from small, intimate gatherings to more expansive performances. The translucently of the
polycarbonate panels allows visibility to the surrounding landscape and constellations
prominent in many of the Dine stories and emphasizes their connection to nature and
the land the surrounds them.