Pokagon Language & Culture Center

Our design team provided architectural and engineering services for the construction of the Pokagon Band Language & Culture Center. Phase I of a multi-phase building approach consisted of a 5,000-square-foot administration building with a classroom for language and cultural teaching and administrative offices for cultural staff and native language speakers.

This phase also included a 2,400-square-foot multipurpose building consisting of flex space for gatherings and cultural teaching such as basket making, and to be used as a tribal historic preservation space. This space included archival facilities and mechanical equipment.

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The building entrance and main hall are designed to evoke a remembrance of a traditional long house, and are made of indigenous wood. This, combined with the natural finishes being used throughout the building, adds a sense of nature into the building. The design also uses materials such as stone that are native to the specific project site, and includes plants that are not only region, but specific to the site's history. This approach not only ensures survival of the native species, but moves the land closer to its natural state.

The facility also provides a tornado shelter for the building’s occupants made of reinforced concrete. The archival space is built to meet the National Archives and Records Administration (1571) guidelines as well as the FEMA guidelines.

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