This project was the winning design competition entry for Washington State University. The roof is a derivative of the “longhouse” of the native Poulous people; an ecumenical gathering space for the project’s users.

Prominently situated at the main entry to the WSU Pullman Campus, the Multicultural Center expands the notion of what it means to be affiliated with the venerable institution. Cultural awareness and acceptance, celebration of heritage, restoration of native landscapes, and sense of place are all expressed through the unapologetic, yet dynamically illustrative form of the 16,000 sf building, turning the concept of what is building and what is landscape on its head.

With its design inspired by an indigenous philosophy of respect and interdependence between humans and nature, entries and communal spaces spill out into a restored native Palouse Prairie landscape, with floor, roof and walls undulating with the topography of the site.