Project of the Year - Government/Public Building The newly unveiled Schwiebert Park is a 5-acre urban multi-use park that runs along the banks of the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Ill. Photo: Gere-dismer Architects div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" When the Mississippi is in its channel, the park provides visitors with sweeping views of the river, an open air stage, playground areas, interactive fountain, an overlook shelter, waterfront promenade, bike trail and beautiful landscaped grounds. However, when the river floods, removable flood walls provide vital protection. An important feature of the park is the elevated grass lawn near the
Award of Merit - Health Care This replacement hospital includes a six-story patient tower, a two-story diagnostic and treatment center, cancer center and emergency department totaling 645,273 sq ft with 255 private patient beds and appropriate services. Photo: Brian Fritz Photography div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" One of the unique features of this project is a 15-acre geothermal lake that is used to heat and cool the facility in addition to being an aesthetic feature. The total project site is 154 acres. One of the biggest challenges of the project was learning how to develop a relationship with the
Project of the Year - Industrial The Advanced Technology Center is one of the largest high-power test facilities in the U.S. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The facility enables S&C Electric Co. to accelerate development and delivery of innovative electrical switching and protection products in the U.S., including the automatic service restoration, energy storage and power quality equipment needed for the Smart Grid. The 43,000-sq-ft structure hopes to achieve LEED Gold certification, making it the first industrial building in the Chicago metropolitan area to hold such a rating. There were a number of challenges related to the correct installation
Award of Merit - Interior Design/Tenant Improvement Turner Construction provided preconstruction and construction services for this tenant build-out of a 32,420-sq-ft electronic trading firm. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The project consists of 122 trading desks, office space, reception area, lounge area and conference rooms. The space is on a 6-in raised access floor and houses a 2,500-sq-ft server/data center. The project includes substantial supplemental cooling requirements and features state-of-the-art communication and audio/visual equipment. The new office also incorporates sustainable design and construction features and is targeted to receive LEED CI Silver certification. From the onset of the project,
Award of Merit - Small Project This new ground-up 18,334-sq-ft, two-story health center also includes a 54-space parking lot with a green retention area, live green roof and geothermal heating and cooling system. Photo: Ballogg Photography div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The building plan has 15 exam rooms, behavioral health facilities and five dental operatories. The facility was awarded LEED Gold for green design and is to be used as a medical office/practice for a non-profit service provider on Chicago’s West Side. The major challenge facing the construction team at the start of excavation was the discovery of buried,
Award of Merit - Renovation/Restoration This was an historic renovation of a 105-year-old, Missouri Electric Light & Power Co. plant into a 58,072-sq-ft, high-tech office space. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Shortly prior to starting construction, the owner decided to add an underground parking structure in the building. This required excavating down 13 ft inside the two buildings and removing unforeseen conditions. As crews removed the thick concrete slabs and concrete structures below grade, they took the necessary measures to ensure that they did not vibrate the masonry structure to the point of failure. As a result of this
Project of the Year - Specialty Project Several challenges were presented throughout the Johnson Controls’ headquarters project. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" These included the phasing of multiple buildings; coordination of electrical, tele-data and HVAC systems below the Power Solutions Building raised floor; and bringing on-line the multitude of innovative mechanical systems on the project. The greatest challenge was coordinating the phased occupancy of the three major buildings and the central energy plant serving them. The amenities building went into use in January 2009. This building was designed to utilize CEP hot and chilled water; however, the CEP, located
Award of Merit - Sports/Recreation The LakeView RecPlex Aqua Arena project is a new, 42,036-sq-ft pool addition. It adds an Olympic-size 50-meter pool capable of hosting lap swimming competitions and triathlon training, in addition to swimming lessons. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" It features a mezzanine with seating for 1,000 spectators and space for concessions, as well as a public entrance that opens to a two-story lobby that includes space for a host desk, office space and locker rooms. Construction of pool within 15 ft of a 110-acre, man-made lake provided a unique set of challenges. The RecPlex site
Award of Merit - K-12 Education The new one-story Langston Hughes Elementary School, a replacement school for 900 students, is the first Chicago public school to be built based on the principles of “universal design.” div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Universal design is the design of products and environments to make them usable by all people to the greatest extent possible without the need for adaptation or specialized design, according to the project team involved with the building. Langston Hughes Elementary School is a 103,000-sq-ft elementary school that was targeted to meet a special needs requirement of 20 percent
Project of the Year - Engineering Design Replacing a 1950’s-era student union, Lawrence University wanted a central gathering space where the campus community could eat, study, congregate, seek entertainment or relax. Photo: Carla Brue Of Image Studio div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The final design was a four-story, 107,000-sq-ft campus center, the largest building project in the university’s 162-year history. The center features a 134-seat cinema, cafe, gift shop and convenience store, student post office and student dining. In 2007, construction began on the Warch Campus Center and successfully consolidated functions previously located in separate facilities across the campus.