Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters Wins Another Award: ENR New England 2025 Project of the Year
Regional Project of the Year recognition adds to a growing list of national and statewide honors for the sustainably designed visitor center.
Haley Ward, Inc. is proud to announce that the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument has been named ENR New England’s 2025 Project of the Year. The project team, led by Wright-Ryan Construction, with engineering services provided by Haley Ward, earned the regional honor among this year’s top submissions.
This recognition adds to the project’s growing list of honors, including a National ACEC Engineering Excellence Award, an ACEC Maine Engineering Excellence Award, and a MEREDA Notable Project Award, underscoring its significance both statewide and nationally.
Perched atop Lookout Mountain in the present day and traditional homeland of the Penobscot Nation in one of the most remote and scenic areas of Maine, the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station, named after the Penobscot word meaning “as far as one can see” is a sustainably designed, off-grid visitor center that honors the cultural, environmental, and historic significance of the land. The 7,896-square-foot structure incorporates thoughtful exhibits developed in partnership with the Wabanaki Nations and invites visitors to a deeper understanding of the region’s heritage and stewardship.
Haley Ward provided a wide range of services for the project, including planning, permitting, structural and civil engineering, surveying, bridge and roadway design, and overall coordination with the design and owner’s teams. The firm collaborated closely with the architectural team, including Saunders Architecture, Alisberg Parker, and Reed Hilderbrand, and with Wright-Ryan Construction as the general contractor, along with Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters and the National Park Service.
“This project represents the very best of what our team strives for – purposeful design, thoughtful collaboration, and engineering that respects both people and place,” said Chip Haskell, PE, Vice President and Senior Project Manager at Haley Ward. “Working in such a remote and culturally significant landscape required creativity and care at every stage. Being recognized by ENR New England is a meaningful acknowledgment of the dedication that went into bringing this vision to life.”
The station’s remote location and off-grid infrastructure presented unique engineering challenges, from environmentally sensitive site work to the integration of sustainable energy and water systems, all designed to meet National Park Service standards while respecting the sacredness of the landscape.
The ENR Best Projects program annually celebrates notable achievements across the region. The Tekαkαpimək Contact Station’s selection highlights Haley Ward’s commitment to delivering resilient, innovative, and place-based engineering throughout New England.
*All Wabanaki Cultural Knowledge and Intellectual Property shared within this project is owned by the Wabanaki Nations.