The U.S. Land Port of Entry in Van Buren, ME is the first bridging-design-build procurement for GSA Region 1. Robert Siegel is the Architect of Record for this new facility. Working closely with J&J Contractors as a design-build team, the project was delivered ahead of schedule and within a fixed budget as part of the U.S. General Services Administration’s Design and Construction Excellence program. We held numerous operational, security and maintenance reviews to involve all stakeholders in the success of the building, which is LEED Gold. Robert worked with the bridging documents prepared by Julie Snow Architects as the basis of design and developed complete construction documents to comply with GSA design standards, CBP design and security protocols, and the P-100 (Facility Standards for Public Buildings).

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The site is remotely located and extremely cold in the winter, with a design temperature of 15 degrees below zero. We developed a simple foundation system using tilt-up precast panel walls and saved three months from the overall construction time. Electronic snow melt is integrated in all exposed downspouts, landscaping materials and swales are designed to accommodate ongoing snow removal operations, and covered exterior areas provide shelter from the snow (and occasional rain) for officers moving around the site.

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The facility is operational 24/7 and has HVAC, lighting and security systems designed to accommodate staffing levels that vary considerably from minimal to peak capacity throughout the day. A large generator with large fuel storage capacity provides survivability in case of frequent power outages.

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Physical and electronic security are integrated per CBP standards, including card access, CCTV, alarms and monitoring stations. The exterior concrete wall and custom glass are bullet resistant, and physical barriers including landscape berms and concrete piers around structural columns provide additional physical security from vehicles.