The structure is part of the program for the construction of new border points - mainly on the border with Canada, where control has never been very strict: therefore, the federal authorities can afford to be somewhat relaxed, in this case expressed as attention to design.
It should be noted that back in the 1990s, the federal authorities turned to high-quality architecture as a means of expressing American statehood: a corresponding program was created, within the framework of which Tom Maine, Richard Mayer and other leading US architects were engaged in the design of administrative buildings of various kinds. The PPC conversion is a more modest version of the same idea.
On the other hand, checkpoints influence the country's image even more than the imposing courthouses and city halls in large cities: the way the state meets a foreigner leaves an imprint on the entire experience of travel.
The checkpoint near Warroad, Minnesota, is located in the sparsely forested plains. The elongated volumes of the structure repeat the dominant horizontal line in the surrounding landscape. The plan is designed to allow travelers to pass through the checkpoint "intuitively" without relying on instructions from the staff, and so that customs and border guards can easily view the entire area.
The building is sheathed inside and outside with cedar planks - from wood obtained by the "green" method. The outer surfaces were covered with black paint, the inner surfaces (including the outer niches and “arches”) were treated with wood stain.
The Warroad checkpoint should be the model for such small entries into the country. Among its advantages are environmental friendliness and resource efficiency. Green elements (geothermal space heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting, use of natural light) are combined with successful predictive analyzes of the future operating costs and service life of the facility to qualify for the LEED Silver Certification.
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