Two new U.S.-Canadian border patrol stations meet LEED criteria and security needs with Wausau's SuperWall system
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Media contact: Heather West, 612-724-8760, heather@heatherwestpr.com
Photos by: Paul Crosby
Two new U.S.-Canadian border patrol stations meet LEED criteria
and security needs with Wausau’s SuperWall system
Wausau, Wis. (Aug. 2013) – Opened in April 2013, the new Port
of Entry in Van Buren, Maine, relies on Wausau Window and
Wall Systems’ curtainwall to help achieve the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection’s security requirements, as well as to meet the
U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Gold criteria. Another
recent Port of Entry facility in Warroad, Minnesota, was opened
in February 2010 and achieved LEED Gold certification. Julie
Snow Architects, Inc. of Minnesota designed both of these
award-winning border patrol stations using Wausau’s
SuperWall™ system.
Helping meet the facilities’ multiple performance goals,
SuperWall can achieve NFRC U-factors as low as 0.35 BTU/hr-
sqft-ºF with Frame Condensation Resistance Factor (CRFf) of 69
and higher. Wausau’s extruded aluminum frames contain
recycled content averaging 70% or greater. For both of these land
ports of entry, Linetec finished the majority of the aluminum in a
VOC-free, black anodize for easy maintenance and durability.
There are 167 land ports of entry in the U.S., two-thirds of which are owned or leased by the U.S.
General Services Administration (GSA). The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) owns or
leases the remaining third. CBP is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland
Security responsible for the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and
between the official ports of entry. In addition, the Warroad and Van Buren ports of entry are
coordinated with the Canada Border Services Agency.
CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country, while enforcing
hundreds of U.S. laws. CBP’s deputy commissioner, David V. Aguilar, said, “Many (CBP
employees) have told me that (they) draw great strength and determination from the events of 9-11.
This is how it should be, because our best response to terrorism is to come back stronger and better.
And I believe the men and women of CBP are helping the nation do just that by securing our
borders, by welcoming an unfettered flow of international visitors to our shores each day, and by
helping transform the world of international commerce.”
Van Buren Port of Entry, Maine
Funded under the federal stimulus bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, Van Buren’s project budget totaled $45,127,000. Along with Julie Snow Architects, the
design-build construction project team participants were Robert Siegel Architects and J & J
Contractors, plus construction manager Coast & Harbor Associates and glazing contractor Oakes &
Parkhurst Glass (O&P Glass).
(more)
The new port of entry broke ground in June 2011 on Bridge Street, just off Main Street. It replaces
the previous Bridge Street location,
built in the 1960s and damaged in a
2008 flood. Situated at the “Crown of
Maine,” the state’s northernmost
station encompasses 46,516 square feet
and is responsible for 160 miles of
international border with the Canadian
provinces of New Brunswick and
Quebec. Approximately 52 miles are
land boundary and 110.6 miles are
water boundary.
“The St. John River Valley is profoundly influenced by its roots in Acadian culture, a heritage
visible in the original settlement of long narrow plots oriented toward the river,” stated Julie Snow
Architects’ principal, Matthew Kreilich, AIA, LEED AP. “Forests still cover much of the area and
provide another layer to the genesis of the design. As the repetition of trees in a forest provides
camouflage, the building uses a patterned repetition of joints, columns and mullions to provide the
officers with concealment and direct visual site surveillance. To provide maximum visual
surveillance, the main work areas are largely clad in glass. A silk-screened pattern on the glass
provides both camouflage and glare protection.”
Wausau’s customized 8750SG Series curtainwall was engineered and fabricated as a four-sided
structural factory-glazed framing system. “Factory-glazed units save time and costs in the field,
which were especially important for the logistical challenges of this remote location in northern
Maine,” says Wausau’s senior estimator, Todd Sackmann.
He explains, “As the curtainwall units are pre-glazed under controlled conditions at our LEED
Silver-certified manufacturing center, this provides a higher level of quality control than those done
in the field and ensures the units meet the performance requirements. Field labor is used more
efficiently, equipment set-up at the job site is substantially decreased, travel and housing costs are
reduced, and installation goes much quicker.”
Sackmann continues, “We adapted the curtainwall’s framing system to smoothly transition from
Viracon’s 1-inch IGUs (insulating glass units) to 2-inch ballistic glass-clad polycarbonate IGUs.
The curtainwall system maintains a flush exterior plane and the intended aesthetic. For this cold
climate application, energy efficiency is enhanced with a 90% argon fill in IGUs.”
Along with balancing security and transparency, the project needed to deliver a durable structure
with a 100-year lifespan and also comply with the U.S. Energy Independence Act. CBP and the
GSA partnered “with local officials to design a new port that will use modern technology to enhance
border security, speed the flow of commerce and reduce our reliance on foreign energy,” said
GSA’s regional administrator, Bob Zarnetske. “For GSA, this project is about supporting CBP’s
critical mission, creating jobs and greening the federal government’s building inventory.”
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Registered with the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED Gold certification, Van Buren’s
innovative and sustainable design features sought a projected a 48% reduction in energy costs and
can accommodate eventual net-zero energy strategies. Kreilich added, “Located on a remote site,
proven, easily maintained systems were critical to the port’s success. Passive strategies included
natural ventilation, daylight harvesting and water-conserving fixtures, and low-VOC materials.”
Beyond the curtainwall system’s high thermal performance, other energy-efficient building
features include:
• Geothermal heating and cooling
• Biodiesel boilers
• Solar hot water
• Zoned lighting with LED fixtures and occupancy sensors
The Van Buren project was honored as a winner from the earliest stages. In 2010, the GSA’s Design
Awards recognized the concept design. In 2011, Architect magazine selected it for the Progressive
Architecture awards. Also in 2011, the Swiss-based Holcim Foundation for Sustainable
Construction presented Julie Snow Architects with a Bronze Award. The third annual International
Holcim Awards jury commended the design for “successfully applying state-of-the-art features of
sustainability in a government project with its regulatory implications. The design is dignified,
simple and elegant.”
Warroad Point of Entry, Minnesota
Minnesota’s Warroad port of entry also has earned its
accolades including receiving 2008 and 2010 GSA
Design Awards, the 2010 Architect Move Award, the
2010 American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Minnesota Honor Award, and the 2011 AIA Institute
Honor Award. Jurors of the AIA Institute Honor
Awards commented:
• “It is in a sense a continuation of the regional
vocabulary – siding, wood, appropriate for its
surrounds – integration of the landscape and
public art – with the architecture nicely done.”
• “The building comes out of its function – the
conflict between openness and security is pulled
off well.”
• “One of the most elegant premeditated pieces of
architecture around, it feels civic and that it belongs.”
The Warroad station’s 40,108-square-foot facility contains three, separate enclosed areas linked
together with canopies. According to Julie Snow Architects, “The main building houses the officer
work area and holding cells, the secondary building houses the vehicular inspection garages,
laboratory space and firing range, and the commercial building is used for unloading and inspecting
commercial vehicles. The port seamlessly integrates the latest technologies for securing the border
into the facility and meets the demands of an energy efficient and sustainable building.”
(more)
Contributing to these requirements, Wausau’s high-performance SuperWall curtainwall was
manufactured with recycled aluminum framing of 6.25- and 7.25-inch depths. Structural-glazed 90-
degree outside corners also were provided. SuperWall’s pressure plate system simplifies field
glazing and its screw-spline construction incorporates 3/8-inch thermal separation to withstand
northern Minnesota’s bitter cold winter temperatures.
W.L. Hall Company fabricated the
SuperWall system’s stock lengths
into ladder frames and shipped them
to the job site for Anderson Glass
Company’s glazing contractor team.
Bullet-resistant glazing was provided
by U.S. Bullet Proofing and field-
glazed on location.
The Warroad station originally
opened in the 1920s. It was replaced
in 1962 when staffing and security
considerations were much less than
today’s requirements. Construction on the current facility began in May 2008. It was completed in
February 2010 and reopened half mile south of the former port of entry on Minnesota State highway
313. Beyond the building high-performance envelope, improvements include state-of-the-art
communications, enhanced security, an indoor firearms range and radiation portal monitors.
“Border security has changed and our Port of Entry operations have been transformed accordingly,”
said Warroad’s port director, Brian King. “Increased security requirements, staff and traffic have
brought a need for more space to operate our 24-hour operation… to better secure this border
crossing and… provide better service to the traveling public. It (offers) our officers a much more
secure environment in which to conduct inspections in a more efficient and professional manner.”
Warroad’s area of operations contains an anomaly of land that is located above the 49th parallel of
the Canada/United States border, and serves the water-crossing of the Lake of the Woods. It covers
the northwestern portion of the state of Minnesota that includes approximately 9,234 square miles.
Approximately 144 miles of international border separates the station from the provinces of
Manitoba and Ontario.
Nationally recognized for its innovative expertise, Wausau Window and Wall Systems is an industry leader in
engineering window and curtainwall systems for commercial and institutional construction applications. For
more than 55 years, Wausau has worked closely with architects, building owners and contractors to realize
their vision for aesthetic beauty, sustainability and lasting value, while striving to maintain the highest level of
customer service, communication and overall satisfaction. Wausau is a part of Apogee Enterprises, Inc., a
publicly held, U.S. corporation.
Wausau and its staff are members of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the
American Institute of Architects (AIA), the APPA – Leadership in Educational Facilities, the Construction
Specifications Institute (CSI), Glass Association of North America (GANA), the National Fenestration Ratings
Council (NFRC) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
(more)**
U.S. Ports of Entry
9 Main Street, P.O. Box 146, Van Buren, ME 04785
• Owner: U.S. General Services Administration, Land Port of Entry Division
• Concept architect: Julie Snow Architects, Inc.; Minneapolis; http://www.juliesnowarchitects.com/
• Design-builders:
o J & J Contractors, Inc.; Lowell, Mass.; http://www.jjcontractor.com/
o Robert Siegel Architects; New York; http://robertsiegelarchitects.com/
• Construction manager: Coast & Harbor Associates, Inc.; Lynnfield, Mass.;
http://www.coastandharbor.com/
• Glazing contractor: Oakes & Parkhurst Glass; Manchester, Maine; http://www.augustamaineglass.com
• Glazing systems – manufacturer: Wausau Window and Wall Systems; Wausau, Wis.;
http://www.wausauwindow.com
• Glazing systems – glass assemblies: Viracon, Inc.; Owatonna, Minn.; http://www.viracon.com/
• Glazing systems – finisher: Linetec, Wausau, Wis.; http://www.linetec.com
• Photos by: Paul Crosby
502 State Avenue South, Highway 11, P.O. Box 24, Warroad, MN 56763
• Owner: U.S. General Services Administration, Land Port of Entry Division
• Architect: Julie Snow Architects, Inc.; Minneapolis; http://www.juliesnowarchitects.com/
• Construction manager: Kraus-Anderson Construction Company; Minneapolis;
http://www.krausanderson.com
• Glazing contractor: Anderson Glass Company, Inc.; Grand Rapids, Minn.;
http://www.andersonglassco.com
• Glazing systems – manufacturer: Wausau Window and Wall Systems; Wausau, Wis.;
http://www.wausauwindow.com
• Glazing systems – fabricator: W.L. Hall Company; Hopkins, Minn.; http://www.wlhall.com/
• Glazing systems – glass assemblies: United States Bullet Proofing; Upper Marlboro, Md.;
http://www.usbulletproofing.com/
• Glazing systems – finisher: Linetec, Wausau, Wis.; http://www.linetec.com
• Photos by: Paul Crosby
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