Since the fall of 2025, Deirdre Towers has been creating with Mara Aceves, Mexican born, Paris-based interior designer  a small pavilion to serve as an alternative to a park bench, granting privacy to rest, dream, or dance. We wish this project to be a Swiss Army knife of projects, many things to many people in different circumstances, at different times of the day. A place to break the pace of working life and a space to tell stories, write stories.

Our 6′ wide by 9″ high structure has the shape of two hands cupping each other partially concealed by a wave of burnt and raw wood that moves in the wind as the waves rises.  The wood floor, with the resonance of a drum built for dancing, has a mandala, lit from below with light and water at its center. A labyrinth of stones and sand ushers the visitors to the center.

“We are living in a time of constant stimulation, anxiety, stress, and information overload. People may not be actively looking for a peace sanctuary, but they are looking for what it offers: a chance to slow down, breathe deeply, reconnect with themselves, and remember the beauty of being alive. Many people don’t even realize how much they need moments of stillness and reflection until they experience them,” says Mara.

What if, for just five minutes, someone could step away from the endless stream of news, screens, worries, and distractions? What if they could enter a space that invites them to slow down, engage their senses, reconnect with nature, and simply be present? Even a brief moment of introspection can change the course of a day. A deeper connection with oneself and the present moment can have a much longer-lasting impact. This structure offers a pause within reality, not an escape. A place where people can regain perspective, reconnect with their humanity, and return to their lives feeling a little more grounded, a little more hopeful, and a little more alive. With a prevalent mental health crisis, this one postural change could help. Read more about the “science of pausing” in Psychology Today

Overhead view of the labyrinth of stones, wave of blackened wood that moves as it rises, with central sanctuary. Model by Mara Aceves

Mara, daughter of sculptor/painter Gustavo Aceves, and Deirdre, daughter of an architectural buff/woodsman keep returning to spirals, natural materials, and indigenous architecture. The symbolic language of labyrinths, spirals, circles, parabolas can be understood by creating them, dancing in them, simply working through them sets one on a journey. By opening the ceiling of our pavilion, the entrant will look up – a neck-saver for all of us doom-scrollers  – gaze into the light, and breathe.

Given our Irish/Mexican backgrounds, we are crossing the Celtic symbol for Awen, the Cornish and Breton word for inspiration, and the Mayan glyph for Ik, wind, breath, life… We call our haven Tzik’awen or Tza’wenik!

The creative and learning process of making this cleaning/clearing/healing space is on-going so we are offering this design to be the blueprint for a communal experience that brings joy, inspiration and renewal to its participants.

Mara & I met through the late great  sound healer Rakel Terceno. As we hone our ideas, we listen to her voice…which we invite you to do now.