CATALYST Principals Matt Ackerman and Jeff Zucker traveled to California multiple times to visit the site and facilitate a series of design charrettes with the US Fish and Wildlife staff. These intensive, engaging brainstorming sessions led to the production of detailed bubble diagrams and, on an expedited schedule, a conceptual building design that reflects the needs and desires of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The visionary design by Matt Ackerman incorporates references to the natural features of the site and greater environs of the San Joaquin Valley, while incorporating the necessary energy efficiency and site sensitive design features to achieve LEED-Platinum certification. With towering, exposed posts and beams, a dramatic glass walled entry pod takes its cue from the vernacular architecture of the surrounding farming community. Curving walls undulate like the oxbows of the San Joaquin River. Roof monitors holding photo voltaic arrays soar like the many wings of birds taking flight. The building itself walls off one section of the Tule elk enclosure, allowing visitors and staff alike to covertly view the elk from inside the building.

In a letter to principal Matt Ackerman, Wildlife Refuge Manager Kim Forrest comments that;