Three Rivers Convention Center
Kennewick, WA
The Three Rivers Convention Center is the first new building in the development of the Vista Entertainment District in Kennewick, Wash. The design concept is a celebration of the Three Rivers region (Columbia, Snake and Yakima) and incorporates metaphorical references to the region’s unique culture and beautiful high desert environment through building form, colors and materials. Concrete masonry units are extensively featured both inside and outside the facility. The project’s architect says there simply was no other more appropriate material identified that could offer all of the attributes of CMU: economical and durable; low maintenance; a variety of aesthetically pleasing colors and textures; permanent interior and exterior finishes; inherent structural capacity for vertical and shear loading; and good thermal performance. Three shades of integrally colored CMU with three different surfaces (standard face, split face and ground face) offered a pallet of nine subtle variations of color and finish. Further variation was made possible by the application of different types of sealers in specific locations. The combination of available finishes and surface effects, used along with other chosen materials, produced an extremely rich interior and exterior expression of the colors and textures of the Three Rivers region.