Now Available to Book: "Prickly Mountain and My Design/Build Life"

In the late 1960s, a group of architects landed in Vermont with big ideas and a simple plan: to stop just designing buildings and start making them too. Drawing from Bauhaus ideals but rejecting the rigidity of academia, they built by hand, embraced mistakes, and turned architecture into a joyful, improvisational experiment. What emerged wasn’t just a collection of homes, but a radical way of living – rooted in community, creativity, and imperfection.

Filmmaker Allie Rood grew up in the middle of it all, playing in half-finished houses where learning happened by trying and failing, and trying again. Years later, she picks up a camera to trace the movement’s history, only to find herself pulled back into its ethos – this time, by building a house of her own. Both nostalgic and full of momentum, the film is a celebration of making cool stuff, messing up, and making more cool stuff – a reminder that the best way to build anything is to just start.

About Director Allie Rood

Allie Rood is a filmmaker and creative director. She studied studio art at Whitman College – an education she sees as foundational to her approach to storytelling. Her freelance work spans independent film as well as commercial and branded content for companies such as Patagonia and Nike, all shaped by her deep roots in the outdoor industry. Growing up in a Vermont community centered around design/build, Allie learned to approach projects iteratively and with a problem-solving mindset, embracing mistakes as an essential part of the creative process. Her filmmaking blends autobiographical curiosity with a human-centered approach.