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border station
Clarenceville, Quebec
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| Client |
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Canada Border Services Agency
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| The Clarenceville Border Station overlooking Lake Champlain on Route 227
is the first realisation of a new prototype developed by the Canada Border Services Agency to replace outdated 1-2 person posts along the Canada-US
border. Set amongst farms
and lakeside cottages in a picturesque corner of Monteregie, the 500 m2
building (including covered inspection areas) controls rural
traffic coming up from Vermont State and provides border services for
Quebec residents.
The border station is a one-storey, metal-clad, rectangular building with a tall roof that extends over the roadway at the primary inspection area. This covered inspection area, with its gable roof and supporting parallel steel trusses, evokes images of the historic covered bridges in the region. Developed according to NRCan C-2000 standard,
the Clarenceville border station is a model of energy efficient and
environmental design. Two
important aspects of the project made environmental considerations a
high priority, and a constant preoccupation throughout the design
process. The building’s large roof overhangs are designed to minimize glare and solar heat gain in the summer, and protect the building envelope and occupants circulating around the perimeter in more inclement weather. The sitting and orientation of the
building play a significant role in the environmental strategies. The
building is located at the high point of the site, with good drainage
away from the building and roadways.
Road and parking areas were sized to minimize asphalted
areas. A large
portion of the property was planted with native grasses and plants,
which blend with the surrounding fields and require no maintenance. Most of the windows face towards the Lake Champlain to the southeast. Large roof overhangs allow for solar gains in winter but protect against overheating in summer. The absence of windows on the northern façades insulates the building from low summer sun and cold winter winds. The wood security wall surrounding the secondary inspection deflects prevailing winter winds and protects the main building entrances and exterior use areas. Deciduous trees were located to shade the parking areas and southwest facade of the building The compact building form, high
insulation values (R32 walls and R60 roof) and a liquid applied air
barrier system, create an excellent thermal envelope.
Triple-glazed argon-filled windows with low ‘e’ coating
provide generous daylighting to all occupied spaces.
Operable windows permit natural ventilation across both axes of
the building. The building has two distinct zones of occupation and use, which is reflected in the architectural design and mechanical systems. A
geothermal system provides the heating and cooling for the
building. Two, 100-meter wells draw heat from the ground and transfer it
to the ventilation and the radiant floor heating system.
In periods where cooling is required, heat is conversely
extracted from the concrete slab and transferred back into the ground.
The system is extremely energy efficient and provides a
comfortable thermal environment year round.
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