COLUMBIA BREAKS FIRE INTERPRETIVE CENTER
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHELAN BUTTE 2-5 6-7 8-13 14-29 30 31
BADGER MOUNTAIN
EAST FLATTOP
01 02 03 04 05 06
INTRODUCTION WORKSHOP NOTES & DRAWINGS CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES INTERPRETIVE EXHIBITS CONCEPT COST APPROACH CONTACT
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COLUMBIA BREAKS FIRE INTERPRETIVE CENTER The Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center began with the desire to save an old Forest Service fire lookout, by bringing it down from the mountains to an accessible spot along a well-traveled highway. In 1990, Nancy Belt, an assistant fire dispatcher for the Wenatchee National Forest, planted the seed for the project by earning a grant from the Forest Service to study the feasibility of the idea. As she gathered information and support for her proposal, the idea grew into much broader dream. With time and exposure, a foundation was formed and the vision expanded to that of a world-class fire interpretive center that would interpret the ecological role of fire and showcase the interactions of people with fire. With strong public support, the concept has flared to reality as the Columbia breaks Fire Interpretive Center continues to develop.
01. INTRODUCT ION
To date: - 17.5 acres of land has been purchased. - Two lookouts (Chelan Butte and Badger Mountain) have been moved to the site and restored. - An amphitheater with a portable stage. - An educational curriculum and video for teachers, along with a one-day training session, has been developed. - One informational kiosk has been built at the site, and another is near completion. - An extended interpretive hiking trail, which will connect with other proposed trails in the Entiat area, is in the initial stages of construction. - Conceptual design for a semi enclosed interpretive and exhibit shelter - CBFIC and Entiat Historical Museum have formed a partnership to envision a shared campus on the current 17.5 acre site. Various Images from the History Forest Society, et al.
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John Marshall photo points, biannually documenting forest recovery following the 1994 Hatchery Complex fires.
Inspired by the scale of the 1994 fires in the Okanagan-Wenatchee National Forest, John Marshall began photo documenting the impacts these huge fires had on the region. Combining wildlife biology, botany, and ecosystems analysis over time, the photos serve as a tool to describe why fire is such an important part of the Western landscape. Visiting the same sites over 16 years shows the transformation. Sites with dense understory and brush - fire fuel - are devastated in the photos. Open understory with high canopies remain largely unchanged over the course of time, with the only noticeable change in the fire blackened Ponderosa Pine bark. Recovery is equally telling. The pace and species that pioneer regrowth and is evident in the sequential photos, and coupled with scientific documentation, progressive forest ecology, relative to fire is better understood.
INTERPRETIVE LANDSCAPE
In December 2011, CBFIC received a $6800 planning grant to develop a Concept Document that could be used as a tool to seek further funding for interpretive elements related to the pole barn structure. As part of The 1% Program, where architects provide pro bono services to non-profit organizations, Miller Hull pledged an additional $4000 of work to lead a workshop and develop the book in your hand. Around the same time, the Entiat Historical Society approached the CBFIC to discuss a potential partnership and co-location for a future Entiat Historical Museum on the CBFIC land. At the end of May 2012, CBFIC Board members, Entiat Historical Society members, Mayor Vradenburg, several Entiat citizens and photographer John Marshall gathered at CBFIC for two-day planning workshop led by Mike Jobes and Mark Johnson of Miller Hull. The Miller Hull team continued to develop the concepts that came out of the workshop to create this Conceptual Design Document. The workshop and conceptual design built upon the May 2006 Master planning study led by Miller Hull completed as part of a state grant received by CBFIC to generate higher visibility for the Center, create a parking area and develop a structure to house interpretive elements. Since that time the parking area was cleared, large boulders aligned along the highway to better mark the entrance, a modular home was introduced as to temporarily house the interpretive exhibits and provide housing for smoke-jumpers and the CBFIC Board and the pole barn structure was completed.
02. WORKSHOP NOTES & DRAWINGS
During the workshop a site plan developed that located the interpretive center, housed within the pole barn structure, and the Historical Museum in close proximity to encourage a synergy between the two entities. Courtyard spaces are suggested between the two that can be used for large community and private events utilizing both facilities to generate income and create a greater awareness of both enterprises. The courtyard to the west of the interpretive center was identified as a potential location for a demonstration garden of fireresistive plants and strategies for creating a fire defensible zone around residences. This interpretive garden was identified as a high priority in interpretive program of the Center. The design emphasizes the large boulder moraines that exist on the site, using them as key organizing elements of the site.
DEVELOPING VISUAL THEMES & MARKERS An inventory of the site highlights several natural and authentic interpretive assets that currently suffer from a lack of visibility and awareness among potential visitors driving past on Highway 97A. The conceptual design focuses on this problem by suggesting a visual theme and the development of a series of markers that increase visibility and signal the presence of the interpretive center encouraging an increase in visitors and advocates for the Center.
Panorama of Existing Site.
The Columbia Breaks ridgeline beyond. Future signage could better signal that the State Forest Trail that traverses this landscape is accessible from the CBFIC.
Badger Mountain Lookout is not visible from the Highway. Could selective thinning and the addition of the yellow color theme help increase its visibility.
Pole Barn currently looks too similar to boat storage pole barn across the highway. The new interpretive elements should signal that this is a special structure to encourage drivers to turn in.
03. CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
The modular home currently used as CBFIC headquarters may indicate a private residence to passersby. When the interpretive center is realized, screening of the modular from the highway may help to signal a public amenity rather than a private property.
Currently the Chelan Butte lookout is the most visible structure with the strongest message signaling a point of interest worth a visit. Visitors can be redirected to the interpretive center entrance with a simple sign near the Chelan Butte Lookout to capture visitors that pull in at the northern entrance.
DEVELOPING A THEME
Since a large billboard wouldn’t align with the character and message of the CBFIC, the current visibility problem from the highway must be addressed with a series of smaller moves that all coalesce around a common theme that reinforces the Center’s mission and message. We suggest raising awareness of the Center through the use of color and form in the elements that already exist and those proposed to be added in the future.
YELLOW
Ponderosa Pine’s are notorious for their gritty intense yellow pollen, a color similar to the yellow paint on the Chelan Butte Lookout. The Arrowleaf Balsamroot, a plant native to this area and prevalent on this site has a flower of an intense yellow. Artist Wolfgang Leib collects pollen from trees and plants and concentrates it into intense fields of color. The colors coming directly from nature can be surprisingly intense and vibrant. Yellow, in particular, is one of the most visible colors in the spectrum and is used on road signage that is safety-critical. Thus the name “safety yellow.” Yellow is already a theme on this site and due to its attention-grabbing qualities, can be amplified on all elements of the Center to increase visibility while connecting all elements, strengthening the message and raising awareness of the Center’s misson.
Various Iterations of Fire Interpretive Sign.
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A TRANSFORMATION The completion of the pole barn was a big step forward for CBFIC, providing 1800sf of covered space to accommodate large school groups and visitors. The siting of the barn will serve the Center well as it is a location that is both visible from the highway and immersed in the heart of the site, nestled among previously burned Ponderosas with large glacial erratic boulders and native fire-resistant plants surrounding the shelter. Picnic tables make this a wonderful spot for travelers to rest along their journey. As a low-cost solution for shelter from the weather, pole barns are a common typology that can be found in many other locations near the CBFIC making this one difficult to distinguish from a storage shed across the highway. Currently the pole barn does not send the message that this is an important interpretive site worth a visit. The following is a series of interventions to the pole barn to give it more visual presence from the highway, an enclosure to house interpretive exhibits and a means of securing those exhibits after hours, and a more intentional relationship to the surrounding outdoor spaces.
01. THE MONITOR
04. INTERPRETIVE EXHIBITS CONCEPT COMPONENTS OF THE INTERPRETIVE CENTER 02. THE EXHIBITS
03. THE ENCLOSURE
04. THE POLE BARN
The following section describes three new components proposed to transform the pole barn into the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center. The Monitor begins with the removal of a strip of the sheet metal roofing from each side of the pole barn ridge allowing daylight to penetrate into the center of the shelter and improving the natural ventilation of the shelter on hot days by allowing trapped warm air to escape. A wood frame structure with a dark stain to evoke charred wood is then inserted into the premanufactured trusses of the pole barn, providing an armature to support a low-slope corrugated fiberglass roof to keep rain from entering at the new roof slot while allowing daylight to enter without direct glare. The Enclosure is an openwork wall consisting of wood 4x4 columns set into concrete piers with horizontal wood boards with 1/2” gaps attached to form a secure wall. Large sliding doors of the same construction are hung from galvanized barn door hardware to retract when the Center is open and slide closed after hours creating a three-bay secured area. The two end bays are left open as breezeways: The northern breezeway displaying John Marshall’s photo point series even when the Center is closed. The southern breezeway provides outdoor shelter space for picnics and for large gatherings during inclement weather. The columns and boards are charred using a propane torch to protect them from fire, insects and weather, a process used for hundreds of years in Japan called shou sugi ban. This process is described in greater detail in a subsequent section of this book. The charred wood will demonstrate an age-old technique for making wooden structures fire-resistant, making the enclosure a part of the interpretive program. The Exhibits are a series of impact-resistant acrylic vitrines and display panels attached to an inexpensive and durable Uni-strut frame system. The transparency and crystalline quality of the vitrines will provide a delicate counterpoint to the charred Enclosure and come as a surprise to visitors as they enter the exhibits from the parking area. Desiccant packs located in trays below each vitrine will wick moisture from the air within the sealed case providing a passively controlled enclosure in which to display historical artifacts and interpretive elements.
“MUSEUM IN A BOX”
THE MONITOR COMPONENT 1
New monitor insets into pre-manufactured trusses of pole barnof Pole Barn
Secured
Open
Exhibit doors opened.
Security doors closed.
Entry breezeway.
Securable Exhibit Area.
Picnic breezeway.
INSPIRATION FOR BURNT PINE
THE ENCLOSURE COMPONENT 2
MATERIAL
BURNT PINE The materials complement the exhibit in character, color, and texture. Similar to the protective layer formed at the crotch of the fire scorched Ponderosa Pine, the interior skin of the building will be charred, illustrating the preservative principles of material that has been changed by fire. Used in traditional Japanese structures, siding is charred, brushed, and oiled to create a durable, and beautiful (ash free) finish that is waterproof, impervious to rot, and fire resistant. Interior surfaces and the doors will be charred, inviting visitors to touch and wonder about the changes wood undergoes with fire application in a controlled setting.
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THE EXHIBITS COMPONENT 3 The exhibit sequence will showcase a multi-scalar appreciation of the work that is being done through Columbia Break Fire Interpretive Center, Entiat Hotshots, John Marshall, Chelan-Douglas Land trust and regional agencies to research and educate about fire ecology. While many interpretive opportunities exist, a primary message includes the connection between people, place, ecology, history, and habitat. A combination of transparent vitrines, interpretive panels, tools, artifacts, and vegetation will exhibit a deep understanding of the regional fire service, from fire lookouts and response equipment to current best practices for fire prevention and an understanding of the importance of woodland fire related to healthy forests.
LOCAL FIRE ECOLOGY
John Marshall has been photographing forests and the relationship between forest health, fire, and fire ecology since 1994. Coupled with research from the Wenatchee Forestry Sciences lab, his photo essays illustrate the resilience of healthy forests and the benefits of fire as an important part of the Western landscape. Overlapping themes of history, habitat, and ecology, this will be an introductory component to the interpretive center, and accessible at all hours. Exhibit: 24’ x 4’ x 1/2” resin panels (photos and text)
SCIENCE & FOREST ECOLOGY
What is a healthy forest? How does fire balance the forest ecology? What happens when fire is suppressed? Who is researching the forests and what are current trends? Science and ecology overlap with current and historic forest practices, habitat, and people. Exhibit: (2) 6’x10’ 1/2” resin panels (photos) (2) 2’x3’x6’ plexiglass vitrines (6) interpretive information panels (text and graphics)
HABITAT
Exhibits and diagrams will illustrate the regional forest, from soil makeup to canopy structure, and the benefits and challenges of woodland fire. Forest management practices, scientists, and ecologists have compiled extensive study in relation to fire ecology and habitat typologies. How can visitors prepare their yards and surrounding property to manage wildfire? What are current Forest Service practices? Which plants need fire to survive? What is the difference between vegetation that makes or suppresses fire? How does a Ponderosa Pine survive wildfire? Exhibit: (2) 6’x10’ 1/2” resin panels (photos) (2) 2’x3’x6’ plexiglass vitrines (6) interpretive information panels (text and Vgraphics) 10’x10’ (interior) and perimeter plantings with fire resistant native or fire prone species
PEOPLE & HISTORY
People in arid regions have forever been affected by woodland fire. Fire is generative. Fire is devastating. Fire is necessary. Fire is feared and revered. Research and documentation, from field sampling and observation to scientific modeling pursue the answers to the position fire holds in the ecological balance. Communities, counties, districts, and regions predict wildfire like weather patterns and describe fire seasons based on data and countless unknowns, such as lighting strikes and human behavior. Individuals dedicate their lives to fire; Smokejumpers, hotshots, fire lookouts, photographers, and scientists seek the answers to the myriad personalities of fire and the ecosystems affected by it, and homeowners, businesses, and industry wait and prepare for fire.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
Education can take many forms at the center. Interpretive and education programming will accommodate students throughout the year, offer travelers along Highway 97A a distinct view of the Columbia Basin ecology, and provide a range of services for the local community. Coupled with partnerships with Entiat History Museum, performances in the amphitheater, and facility rentals, CBFIC will offer a public education resource unmatched in the region.
THE EXHIBIT
In this view, the integration of space, materials, and interpretive sequencing is visible. With hands on and graphic exhibits, visitors can gather, study, and explore teh center within the soft, overhead light from the monitor. Views to the interpretive garden and Columbia Breaks beyond interrelate printed and graphic messages with local ecology, connecting the visitor to their place in the region and the understanding of fire in nature.
FROM PARKING LOT
View of Entry to Proposed Fire Interpretive Center.
MORAINE
View From Moraine of Proposed Fire Interpretive Center.
View From Highway with Proposed Structure and Sign.
HIGHWAY
BUDGET: SITEWORK:
Fine grading, paths, native planting, interpretive garden planting (fire resistant plants)
ELECTRICAL:
32,000
18,000
Site lighting, exhibit power, exhibit lighting
05. COST APPROACH
INTERPRETIVE BUILDING:
Existing shed preparation: 4,500 Prepare shed for interpretive development, including select roof panel removal, cleaning, reinforcement, etc. Roof Monitor: 19,000 Structural framing, braces, translucent roofing Enclosure: Walls & Doors: 50,000 Sliding doors, exhibit walls, 4x4 structure, footings, 2x6 cedar siding (charred and stain finish)
DEVELOPMENT CONTINGENCY (10%):
13,000
SOFT COSTS:
32,000
Design, engineering, sales tax,
Conceptual Design budget: 168, 500
EXHIBITS:
25,000 - 60,000 Exhibit cases (acrylic with desiccant moisture control), interpretive exhibit panels, exhibit structure, exhibit design
Exhibit design budget:
TOTAL RECOMMENDED PROJECT BUDGET:
60,000
230,000-250,000
06. CONTACT C B FIC FOUNDATION D AVE SPIES P. O. BOX 644 E N TIAT, WA 98822 - 0644 5 09.670.4875 W WW.COLUMBIABREAKSWILDFIRE.COM CBFIC FOUNDATION IS A 501(C)3 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP www.millerhull.com
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