ENR Texas & Louisiana Best Projects 2018: Building the Best Across the South
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A total of 121 projects were submitted to this year’s ENR Texas & Louisiana Best Projects competition from work completed over the past year in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas.
To determine the winning projects, an independent jury of industry experts reviewed every entry over the course of a month, ultimately selecting 44 projects across 18 categories, including 18 Best Projects and 26 Awards of Merit. All projects were completed between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018.
Among the criteria judges used to evaluate the work were collaboration and teamwork as well as project challenges and solutions. Also considered were safety programs and incident rates, innovative design and construction solutions, contribution to the construction industry and community as well as design quality and construction craftsmanship. Entries were disallowed for projects with a construction-related death.
The 18 Best Projects winners will now advance to the national level to be considered for ENR’s Best of the Best awards, which will be announced early next year.
To avoid conflicts of interest, if a judge worked for a firm directly involved in a submitted project, that panelist did not participate in the scoring for that category.
Judges also selected a Project of the Year for the region, ultimately narrowing down the field to three finalists: Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System Replacement Hospital (Best Health Care Project), The Center for Coastal and Deltaic Solutions (Best Office/Retail/Mixed-Use Project) and The University of Texas at Austin Engineering Education and Research Center (Best Higher Education/Research Project).
Coinciding with our main competition is the annual Excellence in Safety contest. To determine these winners, three safety experts reviewed more than 60 entries, ultimately selecting one winner and seven awards of merit. Among the safety judging criteria were lost-time and recordable incident rates versus total man-hours worked, along with execution and quality of jobsite-specific safety and health programs.
Each winning project team will be honored at an awards luncheon in Houston on Oct. 18.
- Project of the Year: Tech Goals Drive Design At Engineering Center
- Airport/Transit: Best Project: IAH Terminal C
- Airport/Transit: Award of Merit: RTA Rampart Streetcar Project
- Cultural/Worship: Best Project: Austin By Ellsworth Kelly
- Cultural/Worship: Award of Merit: Christ Fellowship
- Energy/Industrial: Best Project: Mustang Energy Center
- Energy/Industrial: Award of Merit: Denton Energy Center
- Excellence in Safety Best Project | Specialty Construction Best Project: Tiger AO4 Project
- Excellence in Safety: Award of Merit: Avery Alexander Elementary School
- Excellence in Safety: Award of Merit: Dallas Police Headquarters Security Upgrades
- Excellence in Safety: Award of Merit: Southside High School
- Government/Public Building: Best Project: Pantex Administrative Support Complex
- Government/Public Building: Award of Merit: Travis County Medical Examiner's Building
- Health Care: Best Project: Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System Replacement Hospital
- Health Care: Award of Merit: Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research at The Star
- Health Care: Award of Merit: Bay Area Regional Medical Center - Phase II
- Higher Education/Research: Award of Merit: Louisiana State University New Recreation Center
- Higher Education/Research: Award of Merit: The University of Texas at Dallas Brain Performance Institute
- Higher Education/Research: Award of Merit: The New Business Building at Oklahoma State University
- Highway/Bridge: Best Project: BNSF Br. 380.12 over I-235 Replacement
- Highway/Bridge Award of Merit | Excellence in Safety Award of Merit: BNSF Alliance IMF Expansion Phase II
- Interior Design/Tenant Improvement Best Project | Excellence in Safety Award of Merit: BHP Houston Campus
- Interior Design/Tenant Improvement: Award of Merit: Harrah's Hotel New Orleans - Room Renovation Phase 2
- K-12 Education Best Project | Excellence in Safety Award of Merit: Klein Cain High School
- K-12 Education: Award of Merit: James C. Neill Elementary School
- K-12 Education: Award of Merit: Debakey High School For Health Professionals
- Landscape: Best Project: San Pedro Creek Culture Park
- Landscape: Award of Merit: Katy Trail Extension Phase VI/Pedestrian Bridge Over Mockingbird Lane
- Manufacturing Best Project | Excellence in Safety Award of Merit: Lonza Houston Inc. Cell And Viral Gene Therapy Manufacturing Facility
- Office/Retail/Mixed-Use Development: Best Project: The Center For Coastal And Deltaic Solutions
- Office/Retail/Mixed-Use Development: Award of Merit: Toyota Motor North America Headquarters
- Renovation: Best Project: First Presbyterian Church of Dallas Sanctuary Renovation
- Renovation: Award of Merit: Robért Fresh Market on St. Claude Avenue
- Renovation: Award of Merit: Factory Six03
- Residential: Best Project: Catalyst Houston
- Residential: Award of Merit: Star of Hope Cornerstone Campus
- Small Project (Under $10 Million): Best Project: Lake Walk Pavilion
- Small Project (Under $10 Million): Award of Merit: Center For Device Innovation At Texas Medical Center
- Specialty Construction: Award of Merit: International Center Phase VII
- Specialty Construction: Award of Merit: TDIndustries Houston Regional Office Building
- Sports/Entertainment: Best Project: University of Oklahoma Barry Switzer Center
- Sports/Entertainment: Award of Merit: Pressbox Project at Joe Aillet Stadium
- Sports/Entertainment: Award of Merit: Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium
- Water/Environment: Best Project: Waller Creek Tunnel Inlet Facility At Waterloo Park
- Water/Environment: Award of Merit: Munger Place Water Improvements
