{"id":819507,"date":"2026-05-24T19:01:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T19:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/819507\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T19:01:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T19:01:35","slug":"weathering-steel-wraps-indigenous-museum-in-arizona-by-eyrc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/819507\/","title":{"rendered":"Weathering steel wraps Indigenous museum in Arizona by EYRC"},"content":{"rendered":"

California studio EYRC Architects<\/a> has expanded the Cocopah Museum in Arizona<\/a> with a standalone building constructed from weathering steel<\/a> and pigmented cast concrete.<\/p>\n

The Cocopah Museum and Cultural Center<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe standalone extension to the Cocopah Museum and Cultural Center is wrapped in panels of weathering steel<\/p>\n

Both EYRC Architects<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

“Designed and built on a modest budget, the project reflects a deep respect for place, people and tradition,” said EYRC.<\/p>\n

\"BuildingAn orthogonal plan and overhanging flat roof reference historic Cocopah buildings<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"BuildingPigmented cast-concrete walls echo the hues of the surrounding landscape<\/p>\n

Walls clad in vertical panels of weathering steel wrap three sides of the gallery’s exterior and are intended to patina over time.<\/p>\n

Inside, a lattice of willow branches covers the ceiling as a nod to the Colorado River’s native vegetation.<\/p>\n

\"AA trellis formed of steel reinforcing bars shades the clerestory windows from the desert sun<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“Natural materials and a modern interpretation of traditional Cocopah building practices connect the architecture to its environment,” the studio added.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Low-maintenance landscaping of gravel beds and cactus plants can withstand the arid environmental conditions.<\/p>\n

\"AInside the gallery, a woven willow lattice covers the ceiling<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

\"BuildingThe new building expands the original museum, which preserves and showcases the history and traditions of the Indigenous Cocopah people<\/p>\n

EYRC, an abbreviation of Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, has completed an array of projects in its home state of California.<\/p>\n

The studio’s residential work ranges from a sleek stucco home in Venice Beach<\/a> to a Silicon Valley residence wrapped in Danish brick<\/a>, while its past commercial projects include the transformation of a former LA Times facility into an office campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Lance Gerber<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California studio EYRC Architects has expanded the Cocopah Museum in Arizona with a standalone building constructed from weathering…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":819508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[32],"tags":[5643,648,1032,133923,1033,171,337095,8160,92915,92916,67,132,68,2969,169715],"class_list":["post-819507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arizona","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-cultural-buildings","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-eyrc-architects","tag-museums","tag-sectionall","tag-sectionarchitecture","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-weathering-steel"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116631102651184775","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}