The program for the Civic Center calls for new ceremonial and administrative facilities for the city of Perris. Like the Experience Music Project’s building, this Civic Center expresses a tribute to the place in which it is located, as well as accommodates a wide range of programmatic activities. In the absence of an explicit and well-defined theme, we used the experience of the surrounding natural environment as inspiration for the buildings and the citizens who would use them. Our design for the project is intended to highlight the natural phenomena of the Perris Valley, making the Civic Center a place where the citizens can explore their history and landscape. The office spaces are designed around a series of courtyards, the Sky Catcher, the Earth Chamber, the Wind Chamber, and the Water Garden, each of which emphasizes a particular aspect of the Valley. A central mound-shaped space mediates between the existing buildings and the new components of the Civic Center, while providing a large-scale gathering space for the city. Parking for the Civic Center is accommodated under a grove of Jacaranda trees, which is expected to extend to adjacent sites.The project is the winner of an invited design competition. The project team consisted of Adelè Naudé Santos and Associates, San Diego, Architects Wallace Roberts and Todd, San Diego, Landscape Architects and Mathieu Gregoire, Artist.