Press Releases

March 22, 2001 Maine Air National Guard building gets awards for excellence The Maine Air National Guard's new Civil Engineering Building in Bangor has received awards for design excellence from the U.S. Air Force and the American Institute of Architects. The building, designed by Harriman Associates of Auburn, won the Honor Award, the highest-level award for Air National Guard projects in the 2000 United States Air Force Design Awards Program. The building also won an Honorable Mention award in a competition sponsored by the American Institute of Architects New England Region. The USAF Awards Program annually recognizes projects that have achieved design excellence. Over two dozen entries from around the country were judged by a panel of architects, engineers and planners from the Washington D.C. area. The AIA Award was one of 18 selected from 230 entries from architecture firms throughout New England. Among the entries were projects in Malaysia, Utah, New York City, and New Orleans as well as projects in Boston and Connecticut. A panel of jurors from Colorado said the Civil Engineering Building was "executed with confidence and conviction." They also noted that the designers "made good use of natural light and nicely detailed components, inside and out," adding that "the clarity of the exposed structural frame is especially appropriate for its use." The 20,300-sq.-ft. Civil Engineering Building provides the Guard with the space to consolidate its civil engineering activities and uses pure geometric shapes and exposed steel to reflect the unit's mission and work. Bright yellow paint on the steel used in a projecting canopy makes it easy for visitors to locate the building and its entrance. Clerestory windows flood the reception area with natural light, which also brightens adjacent office areas. The curved, wing-like form of the maintenance workshop provides the high-ceilinged bays needed to work on large vehicles and also reflects an aeronautical image. Its distinctive design caught the attention of Metal Architecture magazine, a national publication which showcases metal construction projects. The building was featured in the magazine's October issue, along with another Harriman Associates' design, the United States Postal Service's Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Hampden, Maine, which was completed in 1994. Harriman Associates provides architecture and engineering design services for education, government, commercial and health care clients throughout New England. Based in Auburn, the firm was founded in 1870 and is the sixth-oldest design firm in the country. back to list