BRUNSWICK — Tucked away off Ordinance Road at Brunswick Landing is perhaps the most amazing Army National Guard facility you’ll never see.

When thinking of a standard armory, one may conjure images of older brick buildings with wooden gym floors, high-arched ceilings and cinder block walls.

Driving up to this facility, however, the clean lines, glass and solar panels give it more of a high-tech office building look. Maj. Zeb Murray of the 133rd Engineering Battalion said the $23 million reserve readiness center is indeed impressive.

“From when you walk up to it, the foyer inside — I think there was $1 million spent just in this one area,” Murray said as he walked through the doors where a large portrait of Civil War Gen. Joshua Chamberlain hangs high above on the wall.

“Something I think a lot of people find interesting is the 133rd has lineage to the 20th Maine and Joshua Chamberlain, and it’s pretty cool to be as close as we can to his stomping grounds,” Murray said.

Department of Defense civil engineer Marc Dube said the facility, which opened in September, was “built by the public — never seen by the public.”

Dube said in addition to a large generator, the building is equipped with solar panels over the classrooms, covering an exterior wall and above a vehicle shelter adjacent to the center. According to Dube, when the sun is at its best, the 160 panels can produce 38 kilowatts of power, making up about 10 percent of the center’s power needs.

In addition to the energy-producing solar, there are solar water heaters and geothermal wells. Dube said there are six well fields of six wells each that go down 450 feet. The geothermal wells are used for heating and cooling.

“Guard regulations now provide guidance that energy efficiency should be considered and built into their projects. They definitely want to minimize the amount of energy, cost of energy and maximize efficiency,” Dube said.

The center also features LED lighting that uses less energy, and about half of the roof surface is vegetated with blueberries, helping insulate the roof and preventing it from getting too hot in the summer. Lights and ventilation systems are also controlled by proximity, so unoccupied rooms are not being lit or air-conditioned. Outside lighting is also controlled by proximity in zones, and light is directed downward, eliminating light pollution.

Although built into a hill, the classrooms and work spaces are all bright. Remote-controlled screens can be lowered for training in the cafeteria, and there’s even a small, yet well-appointed workout room.

Murray said the center houses 18 full-time staff throughout the week in various roles, preparing for drill weekends where the population swells by another 160 personnel.

“We’re an engineer battalion,” he said. “We’ve got our headquarters that does a lot of planning and command and control. We’ve got our forward support company here, which is the logistics element. They do a lot of fueling and feeding sustainment operations. And then we have survey and design team which does a lot of the specific engineering planning, surveying and such.”

Murray said a lot of what they do is general engineering and construction as part of their wartime mission. When they’re back at home, the 133rd drills and stands ready to support the homefront in times of disaster such as Hurricane Katrina or just last year when they were needed to assist with snow removal in Massachusetts.

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