Greenbelt Land Trust

A Stunning Pavilion

Background

Our host for this Community Building Project was Greenbelt Land Trust, based in Corvallis. Greenbelt is a local 501(c)(3) land trust with a mission to conserve land and water in the Willamette Valley for a more resilient future. Greenbelt cares for more than 6,200 acres in five counties in the Valley, where they restore habitat, maintain and enhance ecological values, and provide meaningful outdoor experiences and access for all. 

In 2025, Greenbelt built a new pavilion at its Bald Hill Farm site in Corvallis, a 587-acre property that is part of the larger Bald Hill complex of 1,600 acres managed by Greenbelt Land Trust, the City of Corvallis, and Benton County. The 16-mile trail system is connected by walking and bike path to the Oregon State University campus, and the Bald Hill complex welcomes tens of thousands of visitors per year. Bald Hill Farm is a living laboratory of ecological restoration as well as a working farm. School and community groups visit the farm year-round for public programs and educational experiences, and multiple public and nonprofit agency partners work and hold gatherings on the farm. The Mulkey Pavilion at Bald Hill Farm will be used as a gathering space for dozens of classes, outings, meetings, and celebrations every year.

About the Project 

The structure design is based on a design by Andrew Preston and has been modified to increase the size of the structure and add a second porch with hammer beam truss.

The structure is rectangular in plan with porches on opposite sides, which are supported by hammer beam trusses. The ends are hipped with a tablet, and the main roof has two large kingpost trusses supporting the purlins and rafters. The king post trusses use a two-piece tie beam to achieve the large span with shorter timbers. Timbers are rough-sawn Douglas fir with some local oak mixed in for braces.

The design of the frame provided opportunities for learning in areas such as square rule and scribe rule layout, compound roof joinery for hips, valleys and jacks, king post trusses, and hammer beam trusses.