'The fish weir was a hospitable place where people would come and tell their stories,' Snook said. 'We are telling the tribal story in a way that was authentic to them,' Snook said.įor instance, the exterior of the building incorporates wood siding and raised panels that both mimic the materials used in a fish weir - a structure of sticks designed to capture salmon - and tule mats, which are woven stalks cut from bulrush that grow in the swampy areas along the Pend Oreille River. The special features and unorthodox building techniques resulted in an effort that produced a source of pride, he said. The team, which included Lydig Construction, Coffman Engineering, Parametrix and MW Engineers, all of Spokane, then tried to find a way to incorporate those ideas into a working hotel. Rather than building a rectangle filled with rooms, Dan Snook, the project designer and architect with Integrus Architecture, of Spokane, said the team met with Haugen to talk about connections and themes important to the tribe that the designers could try to replicate. 'We are proud of being something that attracts people to this community.'
'We just want to keep evolving,' said Phil Haugen, CEO of the Kalispel Tribe Economic Authority.
