Photo courtesy of INTECH Construction
The Philadelphia University, DEC Center won an Award of Merit in the Higher Education/Research category.

In featuring the Best Projects winners in the region, ENR MidAtlantic honors complex, challenging and innovative work, delivered safely, in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Many of the winners showcase remarkable teamwork among design and construction teams, using collaboration to address project-related issues.

This year's Best Overall Project, the John and Frances Angelos Law Center at the University of Baltimore, demonstrates all of those attributes. The new 12-story building was the first law school in the U.S. to earn a LEED-Platinum rating. The project team worked together to carefully coordinate sustainable systems, programmatic demands and the school's aesthetic intent. The result was a project that not only provided a dramatic new look for its Baltimore campus, it also achieved national-caliber results.

ENR MidAtlantic's Best Projects were selected by an independent jury of professionals from the local design and construction community. This year's judges were: Victor Bonardi, vice president of preconstruction and design-build services, Forrester Construction Co.; Matthew Farley, vice president of structures, Vecellio & Grogan; Bradford W. Fiske, director of design, Jacobs; Jenna L. Frye, project manager, Delaware DOT; Greer J. Gillis, area manager, Parsons Brinckerhoff Americas; Carl W. Heinlein, senior safety consultant, ACIG; and Karl H. Reichelt, executive vice president, Skanska Infrastructure Development. Judges were allowed to name only one project as "best" in a category. They could honor multiple projects in a category with awards of merit or choose not to cite any projects in a category if none met their standards. Judges abstained from voting on projects with which they were affiliated. Projects were evaluated on five criteria: teamwork/overcoming challenges; safety; innovation and contribution to the industry/community; construction quality; and function and aesthetic quality of design.

The jury chose to honor 26 winners in 17 categories, ranging from airports to water infrastructure. Read on to learn more about the Best Projects in the region.