Graham Baba Cloaks Yakima Golf Clubhouse in Timber and Corten

Graham Baba Architects has completed a 12,000-square-foot (1,115-square-metre) clubhouse and driving range for the nine-hole Westwood Golf course in Yakima, central Washington. The Seattle studio built it from mass timber and board-formed concrete, in a semi-arid region better known for orchards and hop fields than golf.

The architects leaned into that setting rather than away from it. "The new facilities are designed as a minimalist nod to agrarian structures," the studio said.

What does the building contain?

The L-shaped clubhouse rises two levels and holds:

• Hospitality space, including a restaurant, bar and pro shop at grade
• 28 driving-range stations, 14 on each level
• High-tech bays that simulate golf courses worldwide
• An enclosed event space and a second bar on the upper floor
• A broad terrace overlooking the course

Below the building sit a golf cart garage and a supplemental kitchen serving the restaurant.

The roof and upper floor use mass timber panels, resting on steel and glued-laminated (engineered wood) columns and beams. The structure achieves a 20-foot (6-metre) clear span between columns. That clearance exists for one blunt reason: unencumbered golf swings.

Why timber instead of the usual range shed?

This is where the project departs from its genre. Most driving ranges are pan-deck and painted concrete. This one isn't.

"In contrast to more typical pan-deck and painted concrete driving ranges, the exposed timber structure introduces warmth and depth, creating a space that is as much about experience as it is about performance," the team said.

Corten steel (weathering steel that forms a protective rust layer) shades select areas of the building. The concrete walls were formed with wooden boards, softening the expression.

"The texture breaks down the scale of the concrete and introduces a horizontal rhythm that reinforces the building's low profile across the flat site," the team said. "As light rakes across the surface, the lines draw the eye toward framed views of the green beyond."

The two range levels behave differently, by design. "The lower range is more protected and shaded, shielded from wind and direct sun," the team said. "The upper level opens more fully to the air, capturing cross breezes and long views in both directions."

Is there an environmental agenda?

Yes, a modest one. The site includes a green roof and an on-site stormwater management system that channels rainwater into a pond. That stored water irrigates the site through the dry summer months — a sensible budget in a semi-arid valley.

Graham Baba Architects served as both architect and interior designer. Artisan Inc was the general contractor, Berger Partnership the landscape architect, Harriott Valentine the structural engineer, and Routh Engineering handled MEP. Photography is by Kevin Scott.

The project joins a small wave of golf architecture taking material craft seriously, from Ivy Studio's burgundy-toned indoor club in Montreal to HA+MA's Alaskan cedar performance centre in Los Angeles. The driving range, long the most forgettable building type in sport, is apparently now a candidate for serious architecture.