Celilo Village Redevelopment

The Celilo Village Redevelopment Project represents a unique partnership that included representatives from four major Indian Reservations in Oregon and Washington, as well as a design-build team of architects, engineers and contractors that worked closely to meet the users’ needs.

Funded and reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, this design/build project involved site planning and design for replacement housing for the residents of Celilo Village along the Columbia River at the historic site of Celilo Falls, a traditional Indian fishing site. The plan involved street and utility design, housing design, relocation of sewage lagoons, a secured area for storage of fishing boats and nets, and an area for short-term camping for Indian use during fishing seasons.

The Akana team worked closely with several tribes and the village residents to ensure that cultural values and needs were maintained and reinforced. A strategy for a phased redevelopment of the village was also developed, so groups of new homes could be constructed, families moved to the new homes, and old homes demolished, allowing space for additional replacement housing.

Akana structural engineers also provided structural engineering and design services for the reconstruction of an existing timber longhouse, with an adjacent new kitchen facility, and a new BIA Office and Classroom building.