It's that time of year again when ENR Texas & Louisiana reveals the winners of its annual Best Project Awards program. As is the case each year, our independent panels of AEC industry veterans spend many hours reviewing this year's entries before deliberating with their fellow panelists to determine award winners.

In all, this year's three separate judging panels collectively reviewed a total of more than 100 entries to ENR's Texas & Louisiana region's Best Projects program, examining factors such as safety, innovation, craft quality, and community or industry benefit. Judges could select a Best Project winner for each market category, and an Award of Merit, if warranted. If it was discovered that a judge had a conflict of interest with any of the project entries, that person was recused from scoring that category.

Overall, after considerable deliberation and some debate, judges selected 17 Best Projects award winners, and 11 Awards of Merit across 17 categories. ENR thanks the industry professionals named below who contributed their time and expertise to this year's judging process.

• Michelle Alvarez, Water/Wastewater Engineer, Hanson Professional Services
• Dana Birkes, CEO, Aecom Consulting.
• Grecia Diaz, Roadway Designer, Hanson Professional Services
• Hachem Domloj, President and CEO, CIVE
• Eric Groat, Division Manager, Robins & Morton
• Britini Martin, Marketing Manager, Sundt
• Natalie Pagano, Director of Marketing and Communications, Manhattan Construction Group
• Steve Taylor, Director, Infrastructure Business Development, Fluor
• Jason Weeks, Regional Vice President, Brasfield & Gorrie

ENR Texas & Louisiana also enlisted separate groups of judges for the awards of Excellence in Sustainability and Excellence in Safety, both of which will be announced at a later date.

In addition to selecting category winners, judges have also chosen finalists for ENR Texas & Louisiana's Project of the Year, which will be previewed in a separate upcoming blog post.

All winning project teams will be recognized in Houston at a luncheon on Dec. 13, with the submitting firm—or their designate—having the opportunity to provide acceptance remarks. Click here for more info about the event and to register.

At that event, ENR Texas & Louisiana will also recognize several other award winners this year: Owner of the Year the Galveston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Design Firm of the Year Halff Associates; Contractor of the Year Harvey l Harvey-Cleary; and Specialty Contractor of the Year Arcosa Stabilized & Recycling. 

We will also recognize the 2023 Legacy Award winner Anthony Mbroh, president and CEO of Dallas-based Mbroh Engineering.

Congratulations to this year's Best Projects award winners, listed here by category. 

Airport/Transit

Best Project: Dallas Love Field Runway 13R-31L & Taxiway C Phase 1 Reconstruction, Dallas.
Submitted by HNTB Corp.

Cultural/Worship

Best Project: Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, Little Rock, Ark.
Submitted by Nabholz l Pepper / Doyne

Award of Merit: St. John Catholic Student Center - New Church and Student Center, Stillwater, Okla.
Submitted by Manhattan Construction Co. 

Energy/Industrial

Best Project: Polypropylene Growth Project, Baton Rouge, La.
Submitted by Turner Industries Group

Government/Public Building

Best Project: Texas Dept. of Transportation, Stassney Campus, Austin
Submitted by Marmon Mok, LP

Award of Merit: Travis County Civil and Family Courts, Austin, Texas
Submitted by: Gensler 

Health Care

Best Project: Baylor St. Lukes O'Quinn Tower McNair, Houston
Submitted by: Harvey l Harvey-Cleary 

Award of Merit: Rosedale School and Comprehensive Care Clinic, Austin, Texas
Submitted by AECOM

Higher Education

Best Project: University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work and Smart Hospital Building, Arlington, Texas
Submitted by Turner Construction Co.

Highway/Bridge

Best Project: IH-10 San Bernard, Sealy, Texas.
Submitted by Webber

Interior/Tenant Improvement

Best Project: Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center Electrophysiology Lab and Surgical Services Expansion, Houston
Submitted by Kitchell

Award of Merit: Confidential Investment Management Firm, Dallas
Submitted by Clune Construction

K-12 Education

Best Project: The New Bellaire High School, Bellaire, Texas
Submitted by Turner Construction Co.

Award of Merit: Stratford High School, Houston
Submitted by Satterfield & Pontikes Construction 

Landscape/Urban Development

Best Project: Memorial Park Central Connector, Houston
Submitted by Ardurra Group Inc. 

Award of Merit: Heroes Memorial Park, Kyle, Texas
Submitted by Cadence McShane Construction Co. 

Manufacturing

Best Project: VGXI — Headquarters and Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility, Conroe, Texas
Submitted by BE&K Building Group

Award of Merit: RL Cold Refrigerated Warehouse, Baytown, Texas
Submitted by Primus Builders Inc.

Office/Retail/Mixed-Use

Best Project: Hines Global Headquarters, Houston
Submitted by Gilbane Building Co.

Renovation/Restoration:

Best Project: The Carrollton New Orleans, New Orleans
Submitted by Impetus

Award of Merit: Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall Facility Improvements, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Submitted by Flintco

Residential/Hospitality:

Best Project: Rivermark Centre, Baton Rouge, La.
Submitted by LEMOINE

Award of Merit: Brava, Houston
Submitted by Harvey l Harvey-Cleary 

Small Project

Best Project: Hill View House, Austin, Texas
Submitted by Art Village

Award Merit: Baylor College of Medicine, DeBakey Center Levels 5 and 6 Labs, Houston
Submitted by Linbeck Group

Specialty Construction 

Best Project: Project Cayenne, Dallas
Submitted by The Brandt Cos.

Award of Merit: Trinity University Dicke Hall, San Antonio
Submitted by Turner Construction Co.

Water Environment

Best Project: Village Creek Facility Biosolids Management and Beneficial Reuse Project, Fort Worth, Texas
Submitted by Archer Western Construction