Welcome Center for the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Intiative 

7 Directions Architects/Planners designed a new Welcome Center for the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (IPCI) on a 500-acre conservation site in Hebbronville, Texas. IPCI is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering communities to reconnect with, regenerate, and conserve the sacred Peyote medicine. 

The Welcome Center is at the heart of a master plan for ceremonial grounds, housing, and gardens to restore and cultivate the Medicine. The project focuses on cultural resiliency, ceremony, education, and sustainability for Indigenous communities. The Center's design emulates the circular dome of a mature Peyote cactus, with 13 sections. The sections are defined by curved glulam beams that provide the primary structure and are enclosed by a standing-seam metal skin. An outdoor courtyard at the center serves as a space for large gatherings, featuring a fireplace and removable tensile shades.

The new Welcome Center will be Phase One of a ceremonial and conservation master plan for the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (IPCI) home site near Hebbronville, Texas. The Center has 7,400 SF of conditioned space and a 4,000 SF shaded courtyard, and includes classrooms, meeting spaces, offices, a dining hall, a commercial kitchen, children's play spaces, and an exhibition gallery. 

The project was designed through an interactive engagement process with the organization’s multi-Tribal Board of Directors. Our Indigenous Design Team began the design process by joining in a sundown-to-sunup traditional Ceremony held on site in a ceremonial lodge with IPCI board and staff. In-person and remote design workshops were held to develop the master plan and building designs.  

The project has been designed to maximize sustainable design features, including rainwater collection, solar orientation for a solar-ready structure, and durable materials that include heavy timber framing, standing seam metal roof and walls, an open courtyard for natural ventilation in the hot-humid climate, and a modular design for ease of construction in the remote site. The project is currently in the process of seeking funding for construction.