Design and Environment

As initial planning began on the new Museum, these principals guided us:

Architectural Design Concepts:

• Design buildings to sit softly on the land and fit into the landscape

• Design buildings that are interactive with the environment

• Allow the visitor to feel nature's coolness and warmth, light and dark

• Develop buildings in keeping with local/regional architectural character

• Use materials of low embodied energy, including recycled products.

• The scale and character should respond to the site and natural features

• Provide good natural daylight in buildings

• Create a building material vocabulary that speaks of the living culture, past and present.

• Site building to protect against extreme climatic conditions

• Design for thermal massing to mitigate internal temperature fluctuations.

Protect and Maintain the Integrity of the Land:

Development includes open, naturally landscaped areas: courtyards, terraces, and botanical gardens.

Maintain continuous natural habitats, avoid site fragmentation, encourage and foster biological diversity.

Supporting the Surrounding Landscape:

This habitat and cultural landscape was entrusted to the Agua Caliente and was once intrinsically linked to their lives. Ecological and historic conservation provide opportunities for Agua Caliente Cultural Museum to preserve and restore a small but significant habitat and cultural landscape.

An Energy-Effieicent Building:

The desire of the Board of Directors and the staff of Agua Caliente Cultural Museum to have a "green" building is for two very inter-related reasons. Native Americans are the traditional keepers of the natural resources of our lands. To be a green building is to affect the least impact on the natural resources. The second reason is one of economics. With the escalating energy costs in the US and, in particular, California, all institutions should be seeking ways to curtail this expense. Dollars saved in energy costs will enable the educational programs to be further enriched as those saved funds will further the mission. 

The architects are creating thermal pockets within the walls of the Museum so that the interior temperature will remain relatively stable. There will be double doors at the public entrances so that we can alleviate the missing of outdoor temperatures with the optimally maintained indoor temperatures. Windows will be minimal and the museum has been oriented so that there is a low incidence of direct sunlight. Angles of sunlight on the solstice have been calculated along with specific overhangs so that there is never any direct sunlight into the Museum there is, however, sufficient opportunities for indirect sunlight into the Museum so as to lower the need for artificial lighting.

An engineering firm has run simulations of potential HVAC systems to assure use of  the most efficient and cost effective one. An agreement has been reached with Southern California Edison regarding the energy efficiency of the building. SCE has estimated what the load should be and have offered the architects and the Museum bonuses if levels go below that load. Architects and exhibit designers are striving to achieve that level of efficiency and are confident that levels will be below the estimate. Architects, Jones & Jones, are noted for green buildings and have won numerous awards for the efficiency of  design. Andersen Construction is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council with familiarity of LEEDS allowing the integration of numerous green building designs and construction practices into the planning/design process that will be adhered to. All restroom facilities in the building will have water saving toilets and person activated basins. All landscaping will be with native plants and a drip irrigation system. This is necessary to get the plants established however, once established, the plantings will have to survive in the desert conditions on their own thereby conserving water.