diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ea8c4bf..82448cc 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 /target
+/build
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e6c240
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.18)
+
+project(photon_light VERSION 1.0.0 LANGUAGES CXX)
+
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
+
+find_program(CARGO cargo REQUIRED)
+set(CARGO_TARGET_DIR "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/cargo")
+
+add_subdirectory(ui)
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 3be5cb4..4975196 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1165,6 +1165,13 @@ dependencies = [
  "winit",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "photon-light-impl"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "photon-light",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "pin-project"
 version = "1.1.10"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index da3d29b..04dba8e 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+[workspace]
+members = ["ui"]
+
 [package]
 name = "photon-light"
 version = "0.1.0"
diff --git a/ui/CMakeLists.txt b/ui/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..735ecb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+include(impl.cmake)
+
+add_executable(photon_light
+	src/main.cxx
+)
+
+target_link_libraries(photon_light PRIVATE photon_light_impl)
diff --git a/ui/Cargo.toml b/ui/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1e2d19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[package]
+name = "photon-light-impl"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2024"
+
+[lib]
+crate-type = ["staticlib"]
+
+[dependencies]
+photon-light = {path = "../"}
diff --git a/ui/impl.cmake b/ui/impl.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6abf56e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/impl.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+set(impl_basename "${CARGO_TARGET_DIR}/release/libphoton_light_impl")
+
+add_custom_command(
+	OUTPUT ${impl_basename}.a
+	COMMAND env CARGO_TARGET_DIR=${CARGO_TARGET_DIR} ${CARGO} build --release --package photon-light-impl
+	WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
+	DEPFILE ${impl_basename}.d
+	USES_TERMINAL
+	JOB_SERVER_AWARE
+	DEPENDS_EXPLICIT_ONLY
+)
+
+# HACK ensure CMake *actually adds* the command above
+add_custom_target(build_impl
+	DEPENDS ${impl_basename}.a
+)
+
+add_library(photon_light_impl STATIC IMPORTED)
+
+set_target_properties(photon_light_impl PROPERTIES
+	IMPORTED_LOCATION ${impl_basename}.a
+)
diff --git a/ui/src/lib.rs b/ui/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/ui/src/main.cxx b/ui/src/main.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb3f748
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/main.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+int main() {
+	return 0;
+}