2007 Design Competition Program

Cavin Family Traveling Fellowship

2007 Competition Poster Click on thumbnail to download (pdf)

The design competition assignment for 2007 is to design a federal border crossing facility that both celebrates the American tradition of welcoming new citizens and protects the territorial integrity of the United States of America. The environmental context of the remote southern California desert site is to be a primary design parameter. The site is on the California side of the border across from Mexico. The challenge is to design a facility that accommodates the safe and secure flow of large numbers of pedestrians, autos and recreation vehicles and commercial trucks and at the same time creates a welcoming process for receiving potential new U.S. citizens. The design of the Mexican side of the border is beyond the scope of this competition. The desert environment provides a setting where the harvesting, conservation and recycling of energy, water and materials is particularly important. The proposed designs should make these processes explicit and incorporate the programmatic and environmental elements into a unified solution.

Site Program:

Private Vehicle Border Crossing Gates

20 Highway primary check gates each with space for stacking of 20 private vehicles

Each with enclosed border guard check station 5’ x 8’ = 40 SF x 20 = 800 SF

Each gate with 14 high covered area of 500 SF

40 Covered secondary inspection spaces 12’ x 40’ x 14’ high on U.S. side of gates

Commercial Vehicle Border Crossing Gates

1 weigh station for commercial trucks with border guard station = 100 SF

4 Covered primary check gates each with space for stacking of 20 commercial trucks

Each with enclosed border guard check station 8’ x 10’ = 80 SF x 4 = 320 SF

Each gate with 14 high covered area of 1400 SF

4 Covered secondary check gates with space for stacking of 10 commercial trucks

Each with enclosed border guard check station 8’ x 10’ = 80 SF x 4 = 320 SF

Each gate with 14 high covered area of 1400 SF

20 Tertiary inspection docks attached to 20,000 SF warehouse

20 Covered commercial vehicle safety inspection spaces (This will be a state run facility outside of the federal border station).

Employee and Visitor Site Areas

Exterior entry sitting area adjacent to lobby

Employee and detainee eating areas adjacent to cafeterias

Exterior exercise areas for both employee housing and detention facility

Exterior sitting areas for both employee housing and detention facility

40 Covered spaces for employee vehicles in secured area adjacent to vehicle facility

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