When carpenter Matt Parker was asked how he came up with the design for this six-sided, red-cedar gazebo, he replied, “I was at a point in my life when the thoughts of uncertainty, lack of abundance, and lack of opportunity had gotten me down. Thinking I needed a change of scenery, I looked at pictures of Aspen, Colo. The city’s symbol is the aspen leaf, which symbolizes new life. I then set out to build a gazebo using the energies of certainty, abundance, opportunity, and beauty.” The entrance to the gazebo reaches a height of 12 ft. at the point of the leaf, the same height as the peak on the top-tier windows. Like an aspen leaf, the sides and window frames have a serrated edge, which gives the gazebo a hand-hewn look. To mimic the veining in the leaf, Parker traced a template on a thin piece of plywood, then constructed the veins by screwing together pieces of cedar. To create the curves of the red-cedar roof shakes, Parker cut the shakes on an angle and then laid them out in a fan shape. After installation, he shaped them with a rotary tool. Copper flashing was added where each roof section meets. Christened the “New Life Gazebo,” Parker hopes it will find a permanent home where it can be appreciated by many and perhaps be a site for outdoor weddings— a place for couples to begin a new life together.

Design and Construction: Matt Parker, Creative Carpentry and Design Co., Cleveland, creativecarpentryco.com