WILDWes Design Initiative

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The WILDWes Student Space initiative addresses a need for community infrastructure on Wesleyan’s campus by creating a durable, welcoming place for students to gather. Conceived and led by Billi Newmyer and Cooper Raposo, the project developed in collaboration with the studentrun permaculture site, WILDWes, and the Architecture Department to better support the area’s heavy traffic and social activity.

Our initiative established partnerships across departments to secure funding, guide the design and construction process, and empower students to take lasting ownership of their space. In doing so, it replaces stopgap measures with durable, purpose-built infrastructure designed to support both the land and the community it holds.

WILDWes Benches, the first fully realized element of this initiative is a custom-built seat ing system designed specifically for the needs of Wesleyan’s WILDWes community. Their simple construction allows them to accommodate shifting uses — gathering, teaching, harvest ing, resting — while remaining materially grounded in the landscape they inhabit. Designed and built by students, the project transforms an improvised condition into a lasting civic gesture.

The design responds to the varied needs of the surrounding community and the site's complexities, with durability and adaptability in mind. By integrating pockets for gathering along informal circulation pathways, the project activates once-overlooked interstitial zones into lasting and unobtrusive community spaces.

The project features interlocking timber mortise-and-tenon joinery, set into bespoke hand-poured concrete bases. In blending local materials and salvage practices with standardized hardware, off-the-shelf components, and construction waste, Soyer Space is built to be a versatile space that evolves alongside the community’s changing needs. Located within WILD Wes (Wesleyan’s Intelligent Landscaping and Permaculture Site), Soyer Space is carefully constructed to align with WILD sustainability principles, creating integrated pathways and assembly spaces along the sloping contours of the site.