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. The floor has the resonance of a drum with 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, stress, and information overload. People may not be actively looking for a peace sanctuary,” says Mara, “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.”

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, moving through them. The open ceiling draws the entrant to look up, gaze into the light, and relax.

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 process of making this healing/performance 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.

What if, for just five minutes, you could step away from screens, worries, and distractions? What if you could enter a space to slow down, and reconnect with nature. A deep connection with oneself and the present moment enables one to gain a fresh perspective,  to be more grounded, a little more hopeful, and a little more alive.