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US Land Port of Entry

Calais, ME

Sustainable design, secure connections: How Siegel achieved a new standard in port architecture.

As part of the Federal Design Excellence program, the United States General Services Administration awarded Robert Siegel Architects the commission to design a new U.S. Commercial Port of Entry & Border Station in Calais, Maine. The design creates a visual “open door” while providing a highly secure facility capable of handling 3,300,000 cars and trucks per year. The new facility is designed to create a visible testament to the dignity and strength of our Federal Government and to embody the spirit of the United States as welcoming and secure, now and in the future.

The design concept is the result of the process-driven approach to the project. The site is organized to maximize the efficiency and the security of the work performed there. Vehicular circulation is a fundamental determinant to the overall site planning concept. Equally important is the siting and configuration of the border station building elements, communicating welcome and security while maximizing efficiency. The building is sited at the high point of a relatively flat site, assuring line of sight visibility from the Station to the entry and exit points of the property. This creates clear, safe and efficient control of incoming and outgoing traffic. The site is configured around these operational needs to meet exceptional environmental standards, including the protection of the local aquifer and the collection and purification of site water run off. Internal circulation is a seamless system of physical connections within the building, extending and completing site circulation at many points. Spatial layout, interior design, the inclusion of balanced natural light, and the selection of materials and finishes have all been developed together to achieve a comprehensive and unified interior design, compatible with the exterior, for the new United States Border Station.

Services Provided

Architectural Design
Interior Design

Site Area

100,000 sq. ft.

Building Area

50 acres

CONSTRUCTION

PROCESS

SIEGEL

Robert Siegel

Eduardo Ramos

Richard Tobias

Brad Burns

Julien Leyssene

Wayne Walker

Holly Williams

Heather Pfister

Eva Hermoso

Justin Huang

Fatmir Hodzic

Scott Schwarzwalder

Tomonori Tsujita

Kelsey Yates

Rita Afonso

CONSULTANTS

Coast and Harbor (construction manager)

Andrew Herbine, Project Manager / Resident Superintendent

Marcella Lancome. Principal

Norman Dineen, Project Manager / Resident Superintendent

Craig Sandberg, Resident Superintendent

Robert Bailey, Estimator

Sasaki Associates (landscape)

Mark Dawson, Principal

Susannah Ross, Landscape Architect

Front Inc. (façade)

Bruce Nichol - Project Manager

Brian Guerrero

SMRT (LEED and commissioning)

Rolf Jensen & Associates (code consulting)

Michael Nicolletta

Alex Castellanos

Construction Specifications (specifications)

Aaron Pine - Principal

Pete & Company (cost estimating)

Pete Federman, Principal

Spencer Finch (artist)

Spencer Finch, Principal

Radii Inc. (architectural models / fabrication)

Ed Wood, Principal

Design Stor (design visualization)

Nicholas Moshenko, Principal

Arup (transportation, civil and building engineering)

Carl Mister, Project Manager

Mahadev Raman

Tom Kennedy

Michael O’Neill

Vincent Lee

Joshua Yacknowitz

Robert Otani

Ricardo Pittella

Khalid Eid

Victor Gomez

Christopher Rush

Adam Friedberg

CONSTRUCTION

PHOTOGRAPHY

J&J Contractors

Larry Bronner,

Project Superintendent

© Paul Warchol

© Robert Siegel Architects

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