The Seneca Art and Culture Center at Ganondagan represents the return of the Seneca and Iroquois people to an important village site of their native homeland. The project embodies the firm’s sensitivity to the natural environment as well as conceptual thinking and understanding of the client’s narrative. The Seneca Center’s architecture was inspired by the Hiawatha wampum belt, symbolizing the unity of five nations under one confederacy. It additionally takes inspiration from the traditional Native American long house plan.
To reflect Ganondagan’s rich heritage as a vital hub for trade and culture, the building’s architecture features a horizontal line that metaphorically connects the five objects on the Hiawatha belt. The rectangular center aisle circulation is used to create the central spine circulation of the building, with programs appearing on both sides. The structure is built partially into the hill, to minimize its presence from the top of the hill and from the reconstructed Bark longhouse.
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