ENR Texas & Louisiana is pleased to announce the winners of its 2021 Best Projects competition!

First, we're excited to share the winners of a special award: Excellence in Sustainability. This is a new addition to ENR's Regional Best Projects program this year. These projects were judged by a separate jury from the main contest. Special thanks to Natalie Chaney, municipal services and sustainability team lead at RPS, Jennifer Snape, owner and managing partner at Batture LLC and Mikel Wilkins, director of sustainability at TBG Partners, for comprising our inaugural panel of sustainability judges. This year, the panel selected two winning projects.

ENR Texas & Louisiana's Excellence in Sustainability winners were chosen from 11 candidates. Some of the factors our judges considered were how well project teams went above and beyond baseline industry requirements, a project's overall sustainability strategy, choice of materials, energy savings and its environmental impacts, not only within its own footprint but also on the community it serves.

This year's winners are:

Excellence in Sustainability Award
Cuisine Solutions
San Antonio
Submitted by Stellar

Excellence in Sustainability, Award of Merit
Broadway Office Development
San Antonio
Submitted by Joeris General Contractors Ltd.

Judging is still in progress for the annual Excellence in Safety contest—be on the lookout for those results in the coming weeks.

Now on to the winners of ENR Texas & Louisiana's 2021 Best Projects competition. Our independent panel of experts from all corners of the AEC industry reviewed a total of 120 projects and selected 18 Best Projects and 29 Awards of Merit across 18 categories.

A big thanks go to this year's panel of experts:

• Dana Birkes, chief marketing officer, SGA Design Group
• Dedra A. Ecklund, project manager, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc.
• David Helveston, president, Pelican Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors
• Mayank Patel, director of financial planning and analysis, Jacobs
• Meloni Raney, president and CEO, TEXO
• Valetta Saldanha, project manager, HDR
• Hannah Sargent, associate, Gensler
• Grace Sober, engineer, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc.

In addition to selecting category winners, our judges have also chosen three finalists for ENR Texas & Louisiana's 2021 Project of the Year — that winner will be announced at our Best Projects event in December. We'll be previewing the finalists in another blog leading up to the event.

All winning project teams — as well as our Owner of the Year, Design Firm of the Year, Contractor of the Year, Specialty Contractor of the Year and Legacy Award winner — will be celebrated in Houston on Dec. 17 at the JW Marriott. We still plan to host this event in person, but we're keeping a close eye on local health and safety guidelines and will change to a virtual event should that be required.

Click here for more information and to register for the event.

Congratulations to this year's winners, listed below by category.

Best Airport/Transit
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Integrated Operations Center
DFW Airport, Texas
Submitted by EXP

Best Cultural/Worship
Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Houston
Submitted by McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.

Cultural/Worship, Award of Merit
Houston
Beth Yeshurun Sophia and Jack Bender Memorial Chapel
Submitted by Gensler

Cultural/Worship, Award of Merit
Brockman Hall for Opera
Houston
Submitted by Linbeck Group LLC

Best Energy/Industrial
Sweeny Hub Phase 2 Expansion (SHP-2)
Sweeny, Texas
Submitted by S&B Engineers and Constructors Ltd.

Energy/Industrial, Award of Merit
Diamond Green Diesel #2 Plant Expansion
Norco, La.
Submitted by Primoris Services Corp.

Best Government/Public Building
First Americans Museum
Oklahoma City
Submitted by Centennial Builders

Government/Public Building, Award of Merit
Vickery Park Branch Library
Dallas
Submitted by Turner Construction Co.

Best Health Care
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Medical Center New Bed Tower
Oklahoma City
Submitted by Turner Construction Co.

Health Care, Award of Merit
Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi
Jackson, Miss.
Submitted by Brasfield & Gorrie LLC

Health Care, Award of Merit
Methodist Midlothian Medical Center
Midlothian, Texas
Submitted by DPR Construction

Health Care, Award of Merit
Thibodaux Regional Medical Center Third Floor Medical Surgical Unit
Thibodaux, La.
Submitted by DonahueFavret Contractors Inc.

Best Higher Education/Research
University of Texas at Dallas Sciences Building
Richardson, Texas
Submitted by Linbeck Group LLC

Higher Education/Research, Award of Merit
Delgado Community College Advanced Technology Center
New Orleans
Submitted by MAPP

Higher Education/Research, Award of Merit
Texas Tech University Weeks Hall
Lubbock, Texas
Submitted by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini

Best Highway/Bridge
Hemphill-Lamar Connector
Fort Worth
Submitted by TranSystems

Highway/Bridge, Award of Merit
FM457 Swing Bridge Replacement (Matagorda Bridge)
Sargent, Texas
Submitted by Austin Bridge & Road

Highway/Bridge, Award of Merit
Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission Safety Bay Improvements CMAR Project
Jefferson and St. Tammany Parishes, La.
Submitted by Boh Bros. Construction Co. LLC

Best Interior/Tenant Improvement
Eataly Dallas
Dallas
Submitted by Structure Tone Southwest

Interior/Tenant Improvement, Award of Merit
Indeed Gateway
Austin
Submitted by STG Design

Best K-12 Education
New Brusly High School
Brusly, La.
Submitted by Milton J. Womack Inc. General Contractor

K-12 Education, Award of Merit
Norman-Sims Elementary
Austin
Submitted by Joeris General Contractors, Ltd.

Best Landscape/Urban Development
Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma Camp Trivera
Oklahoma City
Submitted by REES

Landscape/Urban Development, Award of Merit
Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza in Old Town Burleson
Burleson, Texas
Submitted by Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors

Best Manufacturing
Cuisine Solutions
San Antonio
Submitted by Stellar

Manufacturing, Award of Merit
Park 249
Houston
Submitted by Alston Construction

Manufacturing, Award of Merit
Speculative 9/IG Design Group Building
Byhalia, Miss.
Submitted by Alston Construction

Best Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
Beacon Recreation Center
Arlington, Texas
Submitted by Sundt Construction

Office/Retail/Mixed-Use, Award of Merit
Village Towers Phase I
Houston
Submitted by Arch-Con Corp.

Best Renovation/Restoration
CPS Energy Headquarters
San Antonio
Submitted by Syska Hennessy Group

Renovation/Restoration, Award of Merit
The Hall of State at Fair Park Restoration
Dallas
Submitted by Gensler

Renovation/Restoration, Award of Merit
The Ion
Houston
Submitted by Gilbane Building Co.

Renovation/Restoration, Award of Merit
The National
Dallas
Submitted by ANDRES Construction Services

Best Residential/Hospitality
Kalahari Resort & Convention Center
Round Rock, Texas
Submitted by Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Residential/Hospitality, Award of Merit
HALL Arts Hotel and Residences
Dallas
Submitted by Austin Commercial

Residential/Hospitality, Award of Merit
Marriott Uptown
Dallas
Submitted by ANDRES Construction

Best Small Project (under $10 million)
Cristo Rey College Preparatory Innovation Center
Dallas
Submitted by Joeris General Contractors Ltd.

Small Project (under $10 million), Award of Merit
The Epic PlayGrand Adventures
Grand Prairie, Texas
Submitted by Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors

Small Project (under $10 million), Award of Merit
Shepard State Park Marshwalk Pier
Gautier, Miss.
Submitted by Cypress Environment & Infrastructure

Best Specialty Construction
Collin College Technical Campus
Allen, Texas
Submitted by Walker Engineering Inc.

Best Sports/Entertainment
The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences
Lubbock, Texas
Submitted by Lee Lewis Construction Inc.

Sports/Entertainment, Award of Merit
Beast Urban Park, Phase 1
El Paso
Submitted by Sundt Construction

Sports/Entertainment, Award of Merit
MAPS 3 Oklahoma City Convention Center
Oklahoma City
Submitted by City of Oklahoma City

Sports/Entertainment, Award of Merit
Q2 Stadium
Austin
Submitted by Austin Commercial

Best Water/Environment
Vista Ridge Regional Water Supply Project Design-Build
San Antonio
Submitted by Pape-Dawson Engineers Inc.

Water/Environment, Award of Merit
Buffalo Bayou Park Slope Stabilization & Bench Sediment Removal
Houston
Submitted by Jones|Carter

Water/Environment, Award of Merit
City of Huntsville AJ Brown Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvement Project
Huntsville, Texas
Submitted by Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd Inc.