Branching Out

This summer I traveled to Missoula, Montana with Sea Legs Media to photograph the grand opening of the new National Museum of Forest Service History. I've seen a lot of mass timber, and this building stands apart. Mass Ply Panels (MPPs) from Freres Engineered Wood form the roof planes, carried by tree-form columns that symbolize a forest canopy. Each column is built from American wood species sourced across the country and branches outward in multiple directions to meet the panels overhead, so the load path itself becomes the architecture.

I photographed the building from sunrise to sunset to capture how the timber responds to changing light. Low morning sun warmed the grain and pulled long shadows across the site, midday light defined the geometry of the branching connections, and dusk revealed the glow of the interior through the envelope. Walking through the museum's permanent exhibits gave a real sense of the many ways the Forest Service has served as steward of some of our country's most treasured landscapes, protecting them so future generations can enjoy them too. It's a building that honors both the material and the mission, and it was a privilege to document it.

Matt Swain Photography is based out of the Pacific North West and serves Missoula, MT and the West Coast with quality architectural and drone photography.