What are the qualities that make a project outstanding? Every year, ENR invites teams from around the country to submit their best work to its regional “Best Projects” competitions, based on teamwork, safety, problem-solving, innovation and quality.

In this year’s 12-month-long winnowing process, ENR editors once again assembled panels of industry experts to identify the regional winners within the 20 project categories, noting excellence in design and construction achievement. All projects had to be sited in the U.S. and completed between May 2015 and June 2016.

This time around, more than 700 construction-industry project teams submitted entries to one of our 10 regions. Category winners in each region competed against each other for national honors.

New judging panels from across the country tackled the difficult task of deciding which projects would become the “Best of the Best.” ENR also convened a separate panel of industry safety specialists to choose one Excellence in Safety winner.

From the judges' assessment of a short list of standout achievements, ENR editors chose a single Project of the Year as the top example of innovation and service to the community.

On April 13 and 14, these winning teams will be recognized as part of ENR’s Award of Excellence celebration. The event will be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City. Please visit www.enrawardofexcellence.com for information on attending.

Water/Environment
Blue Plains Tunnel

Cultural/Worship
San Francisco MOMA Expansion

Energy/Industrial
Elk Station 2 & 3

Excellence in Safety
T-Mobile Arena

Government/Public Building
Onondaga Lakeview Amphitheater

Green Project
Google Kirkland Campus, Building D

Airport/Transit
No. 7 Line Subway Extension

Health Care
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care

Highway/Bridge
CDOT Twin Tunnels Expansion Program

K-12 Education
Wayne County-Grantham Middle School and Spring Creek Middle School

Landscape/Urban Development
African Adventure at Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Higher Education/Research
Allen Institute

Manufacturing
New Belgium East Coast Brewery

Office/Retail/Mixed Use
The Tower at PNC Plaza

Renovation/Restoration
The Gin at the Hutto Co-Op District

Interior/Tenant Improvement
Nixon Peabody

Residential/Hospitality
Community First! Village

Sports/Entertainment
Polk Penguin Conservation Center at the Detroit Zoo

Small Project (under $10 million)
Baltimore Visitor Center Renovation

Specialty Construction
Antony Gormley Sculpture

View Best of the Best 2015