The Chelan County Public Utility District Service Center
Chelan, WA
The Chelan County Public Utility District (CCPUD) began providing electrical service in 1947 to a modest, rural, eastern Washington community. Today, their customers add up to nearly 50,000, and it was time for them to join their disparate existing facilities to increase efficiency and ease future expansion as needed. A 26.5-acre site was chosen north of downtown Wenatchee, where it can be seen from above while driving along the primary entry into town, formalizing and celebrating local ecologies in a very public place of business. The site also carries historic and cultural significance, originally being home to the 1899-built home of pioneer Michael Horan. Before the arrival of European settlers, the site had historic significance to the local Native tribes, and archaeological considerations had a big impact on the timeline and care of this project.
The new service center consists of multiple buildings including maintenance shops, vehicle storage, warehouses, and the headquarters building. An entry plaza is located at the main public entrance, and includes amenities such as seat walls, moveable tables and chairs, an interpretive water feature with metaphoric reference to the hydrologic service area of Chelan PUD, and interpretive signage. The PUD was interested in the landscape reflecting the local environment, and for parts of the site to be able to function as a kind of demonstration garden; showcasing for example subalpine or prairie plant communities, outlining them in a responsible, firewise landscape. The site also displays ways to plant xeriscapes, rather than traditional gardens; xeriscaping is a manner of planting that is especially drought tolerant, and reduces the need for irrigation in the typically dry, sunny Wenatchee area. Referencing the dual nature of the PUD’s work, the planting and hardscape reference natural and industrial themes, including an interpretative representation of the local dams providing the PUD with much of its energy. The planting palette is primarily native plants sourced locally, and referencing the multiple reference ecologies found within the Chelan County eco-tone.
Chelan, WA
The Chelan County Public Utility District (CCPUD) began providing electrical service in 1947 to a modest, rural, eastern Washington community. Today, their customers add up to nearly 50,000, and it was time for them to join their disparate existing facilities to increase efficiency and ease future expansion as needed. A 26.5-acre site was chosen north of downtown Wenatchee, where it can be seen from above while driving along the primary entry into town, formalizing and celebrating local ecologies in a very public place of business. The site also carries historic and cultural significance, originally being home to the 1899-built home of pioneer Michael Horan. Before the arrival of European settlers, the site had historic significance to the local Native tribes, and archaeological considerations had a big impact on the timeline and care of this project.
The new service center consists of multiple buildings including maintenance shops, vehicle storage, warehouses, and the headquarters building. An entry plaza is located at the main public entrance, and includes amenities such as seat walls, moveable tables and chairs, an interpretive water feature with metaphoric reference to the hydrologic service area of Chelan PUD, and interpretive signage. The PUD was interested in the landscape reflecting the local environment, and for parts of the site to be able to function as a kind of demonstration garden; showcasing for example subalpine or prairie plant communities, outlining them in a responsible, firewise landscape. The site also displays ways to plant xeriscapes, rather than traditional gardens; xeriscaping is a manner of planting that is especially drought tolerant, and reduces the need for irrigation in the typically dry, sunny Wenatchee area. Referencing the dual nature of the PUD’s work, the planting and hardscape reference natural and industrial themes, including an interpretative representation of the local dams providing the PUD with much of its energy. The planting palette is primarily native plants sourced locally, and referencing the multiple reference ecologies found within the Chelan County eco-tone.
