Good Thinking

Cocopahs' new community center functional, environmentally friendly

With an oval auditorium and a domed roof, the Cocopah Tribe's new community center is designed for inspiration. And, with walls made of recycled packing foam, the building is easy on the environment, too.

"I told the architects I prefer an environmentally safe product," said Tribal Resource Planner Paul Soto. "They're the ones who came up with the (building materials)." "It's an attempt to do something for the environment as a whole. I wanted to think of alternative energies too, but those are not commercially adaptable yet. To build an alternative system, you have to build a regular system, too. It would be too costly."

Soto said his idea of an environmentally friendly building would be something that would last for 25 years, then disappear into the soil. He still hopes the community center materials can be recycled in some way when the life of the building is over.

The center, designed by a Native American firm called Blossom Design Group from Tempe, will house a youth room with games and television, an arts and crafts room for tribal elders as well as youth, a weight room, a library, a computer lab and an auditorium large enough to seat 400 people.

Outdoor basketball courts are also under construction next to the building, which is located on the West Reservation near Somerton.

Future plans call for a soccer field and gymnasium.

The oval auditorium, flanked by east and west rectangular wings is covered by a domed arched roof made of lumber. For the walls, a building material called Rastra was chosen. Rastra is a building material made of a mixture of concrete beads and 85 percent recycled packing foam beads, called polystyrene. It is lightweight, yet strong enough to withstand hurricanes and flexible enough to survive an earthquake.

Concrete is then poured into the forms to give the walls added strength and insulation. The material comes in preformed blocks that can be erected and finished quickly without framing or additional insulation. Drywall is not necessary although the Cocopah center will have an interior drywall hung from steel beam supports. The outside will be finished with stucco.

Soto was pleased that the tribal council voted to go with the Rastra material for the $2 million project, but said it was hard for the builders to buy the idea.

"(The builders) can understand nails and a hammer. With this stuff all you need is a glue gun," said Soto.

Yuma Valley Contractors Manager Bruce Wallace said a sub-contractor was used to frame in the building with Rastra but now the company is sold on the material.

"It's a new medium, the first time for our company, but it went up smoothly," said Wallace. "It's insultation value is superior to masonry, it is lighter weight and it goes up faster. The fact that it is an alternative to lumber and masonry makes it attractive for builders."

Wallace said he was impressed with the product on the basis of its sound density and fireproof qualities and said it is like any other medium as far as plumbing and electric installation.

"We were excited to go with (the Rastra)," Wallace said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we end up building a model home out of it. Actually, a layman can put it up with little training."

What has caused more trouble for the builders, according to Wallace, is the unique domeshaped roof that arches over an oval-shaped auditorium.

"The dome feature is a unique part of the Native American design," he said. "A cyndrical room with a radius and an arched roof are more of a challenge than the Rastra. But the radius are cleaner because we can shape the Rastra blocks. It's a unique building that is going to bring good activity for the tribe."

Soto hopes the new community center will see a lot of use and be open 24 hours a day for tribal members.

"We don't get as much participation as we'd like to see in our programs," said Soto. "We knew we needed to think of what is adaptable to our culture. We anticipate great usage of the center."

The center, which Wallace expects to be finished by May, is only the latest of several tribal improvement projects over the last few years. The 150-foot water sphere built in 1999 also has an unusual design that has changed the skyline of southern Yuma County.

Wallace, who said he has worked for the tribe before, said he is happy to see changes on the reservation.

"For years we built box houses for Cocopahs but in the last group of houses we built, (also on the West Reservation), they broke away from that with something nicer that people will take pride in," he said. "The community center will be an asset to the whole community."