Weathering steel wraps Indigenous museum in Arizona by EYRC
California studio EYRC Architects has expanded the Cocopah Museum in Arizona with a standalone building constructed from weathering steel and pigmented cast concrete.
The Cocopah Museum and Cultural Center preserves and showcases the history and traditions of the Indigenous people of the Cocopah Nation, located close to the city of Yuma and the Colorado River along the current US-Mexico border.
Both EYRC Architects and the general contractor contributed their services pro bono for the design and construction of the extension, which comprises a new standalone building close to the original museum built in 1996.
"Designed and built on a modest budget, the project reflects a deep respect for place, people and tradition," said EYRC.
The 1,200-square-foot (111-square-metre) gallery has an orthogonal plan and an overhanging flat roof that "directly reference the historically sustainable dwellings of the Cocopah people" according to the studio.
Separated from the older building by a landscaped garden, the new structure's main volume is cast from pigmented concrete that echoes the hue of the surrounding landscape and evokes the earthen walls used in historic Cocopah dwellings.
Walls clad in vertical panels of weathering steel wrap three sides of the gallery's exterior and are intended to patina over time.
Inside, a lattice of willow branches covers the ceiling as a nod to the Colorado River's native vegetation.
Meanwhile, an external trellis of steel reinforcing bars offers a contemporary take on the same idea and "a poetic expression of structural honesty and simplicity," EYRC said.
"Natural materials and a modern interpretation of traditional Cocopah building practices connect the architecture to its environment," the studio added.
The trellis overhangs shade the clerestory windows from the desert sun, and the concrete walls form a well-insulated envelope that also minimises solar heat gain.
Low-maintenance landscaping of gravel beds and cactus plants can withstand the arid environmental conditions.
EYRC consulted with the Cocopah Nation at every stage in the process to ensure the building sensitively represents their culture and accommodates the museum's exhibits.
"Throughout the design process, the team centered the voices of the Cocopah people, listening closely to their stories and the rhythms of their land," EYRC said. "The result is a space that not only serves functional needs, but helps this community tell their story in their own way."
EYRC, an abbreviation of Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, has completed an array of projects in its home state of California.
The studio's residential work ranges from a sleek stucco home in Venice Beach to a Silicon Valley residence wrapped in Danish brick, while its past commercial projects include the transformation of a former LA Times facility into an office campus.
The photography is by Lance Gerber.
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