Phoenix Trail is a dynamic fort installation which celebrates regeneration and nature’s resiliency. Inspired by the prescribed burns in the Hill Country Trails area of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Phoenix Trail is about rising from the ashes and starting anew.

The power of transformation is further emphasized by the alternating colors inspired by local wildflowers, creating a moire effect as one walks through and around the fort structure. The outward faces of the fort’s wooden posts feature a rich Shou Sugi Ban finish, providing a direct link to the mythical phoenix. Each a-frame is punctuated with hanging rope, creating a rope maze which recalls a frolic through the tall grasses of a Blackland Prairie.

Phoenix Trail is a satellite fort commissioned by The Wildflower Center in partnership with The Trail Conservancy as part of Fortlandia 2022.

Photography by Liv Kinsey, Gus Bernal and Ana Rodriguez DeFrates