by aleida, on April 26th, 2010
Image courtesy of BrightTALK webinar
BrightTALK’s Green Building Summit on Thursday, April 22, 2010 continued with a presentation titled Sustainable Federal Buildings: Mariposa Land Port of Entry, AZ, presented by Melissa Farling, Brian Farling, and Eddie Jones, all three from Jones Studio, an architecture firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. They gave us an overview to some of the considerations that are going into the redesign of one of the largest ports in the United States.
The Mariposa Land Port of Entry is just one of thirty-three ports of entry along the United States – Mexico border. Located in Nogales, Arizona, “Mariposa’s facility annually processes more people than LAX and JFK combined. It inspects $12.85 billion of merchandise, and 45% of the produce consumed in the US crosses Mariposa,” said Jones. Yet the facility struggles to do its job. These numbers are continually increasing, and during harvest season, trucks already have a wait time of up to 10 hours. But at least they have designated paths to follow; pedestrians have to use worn dirt paths to get to and from the port. “The traffic queues, congestion, exhaust fumes, and dessert temperatures combine to create a toxic environment and an unpleasant experience for customs and border patrol agents, [United States citizens], and Mexican citizens.”
Built in 1973, the port is in need of a major redesign. “One of our most daunting challenges was to redesign the port to move traffic more efficiently, while saying architecturally, “Welcome to the U.S.A.” The project is pursuing a “whole system” approach – one that minimizes the use of resources and impact on the environment while providing security and a welcoming environment. Inspired by linear rail yards, the redesign includes a clear area for southbound traffic into Mexico, two designated areas for northbound traffic (one for personal vehicles, and a much larger one for commercial trucks), and two safe and distinct lanes for pedestrians. Lastly, an “oasis” has been carved out for port employees. Designed at the scale of a small downtown main street, it will provide a safe zone where employees can enjoy the outdoors and de-stress.
The processing capacity of the entire facility will double, thus reducing wait times for everyone involved. More lanes are being added, and all will be color-coded. The way-finding structures will also function as canopies that lead traffic into filtered sun light during the inspection process.
Image courtesy of BrightTALK webinar
The new port has been designed to earn LEED certification at the Platinum level, and the team reports that they are on schedule and on budget. Just some of the sustainable features are: pervious paving on the internal employee safe zone; a rain harvesting system with an underground reservoir that can hold up to one million gallons of water; strictly indigenous landscaping; and an array of photovoltaic panels that will provide one megawatt of power, as well as shade for about 400 parking spaces. The array’s capacity is expected to satisfy 85% of the port’s daytime power requirements.
While work is already underway, the port won’t be fully redesigned until a few years from now. Until it’s ready to see in person, check out this presentation here.
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