This building fulfilled a 10-year dream to return the Yurok tribe’s headquarters to their historic tribal lands along the Klamath River, and to consolidate their many administrative departments into one location. Rather than using the traditional method of hiring an architect, finishing plans, and soliciting bids, this client chose to request design/build proposals from qualified teams. Pacific Builders and David Pierce, architect, were selected from the field of seven applicants, based on preliminary design presentations, references, and experience.
The tribe chose a “fast track” approach, where construction closely followed design throughout the project. As soon as one phase of the work was approved by all parties, work began and the next phase of design was initiated. This required weekly meetings with the design/build team and members of the tribe’s planning department to coordinate the effort.
There was a conscious effort by all parties to build an environmentally sound structure. To accomplish this goal, most of the building (including the framing) is constructed using metal, a heavily recycled product.
The unique entry is based on the traditional living structures of the Yurok tribe. It is fabricated from pre-cast concrete panels textured to look like the split logs used in traditional Yurok homes.
The facility houses offices for planning and building, the legal and cultural departments, the administrative offices for the tribal council and chairperson, and an auditorium.
