Spokane-based Integrus Architecture PS has designed four high-security U.S. Embassies currently under construction at a combined cost of $213 million in the African nations of Guinea, Mali, Sierre Leone, and Algeria. The structures will replace older embassies in those countries.


Virtually all of the design for those four embassies was done right here in Spokane, says Gerald Winkler, Integrus president.


Integrus, which spent several years qualifying for those secretive U.S. State Department jobs, has been pre-qualified to bid on five more U.S. Embassy projects this year, says Winkler. He says total fees for Integrus work on the four embassies was about $14.6 million.


With the bombing of two U.S. Embassies in Africa in 2000, its obvious this nations embassies are targets no matter where they are, Winkler says.


The federal government responded to the embassy bombings in 2000 by instituting an aggressive 10- to 12-year, $4 billion to $5 billion program to make U.S. Embassies safer around the world, says Winkler. He says the plan is to build eight to 12 newer and safer embassies every year.


After the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1985, about 10 U.S. Embassies in select foreign countries were redesigned and rebuilt before congressional funding for such projects fell off, says Winkler. In 1990, Integrus was awarded a contract to design one of those projects, the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia.


For the African projects, which include landscaping as well as building design, Integrus teamed with Caddell Construction Co., of Montgomery, Ala., which is the general contractor on those design/build projects, Winkler says. It takes about seven or eight months for Integrus to complete design work for one embassy, he says.


State Department officials worked closely with Integrus architects and in-house engineers to design buildings that met pre-determined standards regarding glass, ballistics, forced-entry, chemical, and biological issues.


Winkler says the structures are basically concrete bunkers with decorative stones added to the exteriors to make them friendlier pieces of architecture. Most, but not all of the buildings, are designed to be high-security facilities, he says.


The protective fences around the perimeters of the four U.S. Embassies can be made of steel, solid wall, or a combination of both, says Winkler. He says they are designed to meet anti-ram specifications.


Nearly all of the materials to construct the buildings are being imported from the U.S., says Winkler. He says the skills of local laborers often are inadequate to do much of the work, and subcontractors from outside Africa, such as from Turkey, have been contracted to work on those embassy projects. He emphasizes that much of the work is done by non Americans, including Europeans and some African natives.


Members from Integrus staff have been traveling to the capital cities of each nation, where the embassies are being built, first during the design phase, and again during construction, says Winkler. Those visits normally last about one week, and the weather is typically very hot and very muggy, he says.


Each one of these projects presents us with unique issues, Winkler says. One example is the embassy in Sierre Leone, where workers have dug 300 meters into the ground for a well to supply water, but havent found water yet.


Each of the four U.S. Embassies in Africa will sit on a 12- to 20-acre compound and will include seven buildings, says Winkler. The largest structure is the main office building, which can include as much as 90,000 square feet of space, he says. Other support buildings provide housing for Marines as well as both warehouse and shop space. Overall construction at one embassy can exceed 120,000 square feet of space, he says.


Winkler says each of the four embassies will employ from 100 to 300 people, about one fourth of them Americans.


Construction of the four embassies, which began as early as 2002, will take from one and a half to four years to complete. The projects in Guinea, Mali, and Sierre Leone are expected to be finished later this year, he says. The U.S. Embassy in Algeria, the largest and most expensive of the four, is scheduled for occupancy in November 2007.


Winkler says Integrus had $14.6 million in revenue last year.


Integrus, with roots that date back to 1953, was formed in 1991 when two Spokane architectural firms, Environmental Concern Inc. and WMFL PS Architects & Engineers, joined forces. The company employs about 80 people, about 60 in Spokane and the rest at its Seattle office. Winkler says only about 20 percent of the companys work volume has been generated by the four embassy projects. The company primarily does design work on public buildings, including the Spokane Convention Center expansion and schools, he says.


With the kind of business we are in, we want our work to remain balanced, Winkler says.