The relationship between architecture and nature rarely gets more explicit than with rammed-earth construction. The 18-foot-high western exterior wall of the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Center in Osoyoos, British Columbia, stretches for 260 feet, making it the longest rammed-earth wall in North America, according to Vancouver-based Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects (HBBH). But the size is downplayed by the ruddy material, much of which was excavated on-site to capture the desert colors of the South Okanagan Valley.
Bruce Haden, a principal at HBBH, says he tried to resist the traditional choice of ersatz regional architecture, like that found in Santa Fe’s fake adobe buildings. “We wanted a building that was simultaneously modern and spoke to the landscape and the contemporary traditions of the Osoyoos Indian Band,” he says. Although the 12,000-square-foot center—used as an exhibition and meeting space by the Osoyoos—disappears behind the earthen wall and under a vegetated roof, these two highly visible sustainable design elements support a comprehensive energy-efficient project that also relies on radiant heating and cooling.
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