Cocoon brings local residents together to build something new. The project incorporates art, science, nature, and culture. In many neighborhoods people hope for change but fear the unexpected. Like moths building a cocoon, not knowing what they might become in the process, individuals must learn to work together in new ways. Cocoon workshops will be held in cities, suburbs, and rural areas, in neighborhoods in flux, bringing together residents who speak different languages as well as families who have known each other for generations. They will learn in the process what moths already know: change, however dramatic, is only natural.

Working as a team to create a dramatic structure, community members examine the biology of moth metamorphosis, utilize locally available natural, found, and re-purposed building materials, and acquire hands-on experience with solar energy. The project is highly visible, and can focus community attention on a particular location or simply provide an opportunity for neighbors to gather. Cocoons may be constructed on sites where historic events have occurred, in areas where crime must be curtailed so children can play, or where foot traffic is needed to support local business. The three-day Cocoon workshop galvanizes relationships, brings basic science concepts to life, demystifies green energy and creates a vivid model of transformation for the community.

The cocoon is approximately 26 feet in length and 10 feet in diameter, large enough to hold five adults. The workshop is facilitated by Browne Barnes, which provides a basic design plan and drawings. The group works together to adapt the design and materials to reflect the area's indigenous building materials, cultural history and traditions, immigration patterns and international influences, as well as the community's immediate concerns. The construction project involves team decision-making, physical labor, and strategic thinking. The boilerplate design includes solar panels that power the cocoon's dramatic special effects, chosen and created by participants. The final structure may include music, video, drawings and photographs, even a community statement of goals. It's all up to the local team.

The workshop culminates with an evening event for the entire community. The cocoon radiates light and sound, powered by the solar panels the team has built. After the show workshop participants invite the community to explore the cocoon and the interactive features the team has designed and incorporated. The event includes activities for adults and children, information on green energy, and can include local music, a moth hunt, a comparison of local moths and cocoons with those from around the world, and hands-on art/science projects such as the construction of miniature cocoons and drawings to decorate the interior of the structure.

The workshop participants model a society working together for change as they plan, build, and generate power for their own unique neighborhood Cocoon.

The first Cocoon was built in the summer of 2008 in Cragsmoor, New York (see slideshow, above). Cocoons will be built during the spring and summer of 2009 in locations including New York City, Los Angeles and Mexico City.