Award of Excellence-Design-Build
M.D. Anderson Cancer Prevention Building
Submitted by: Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Austin
Location: Houston

Key Players:
Owner: The University of Texas, Austin
General Contractor: Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Austin
Architect: FKP Architects Inc., Houston

As the replacement building for the existing Houston Main Building on M.D. Anderson's campus, the $73.7 million Cancer Prevention Building provides a complete-yet-flexible update of space for medical staff and administration. The project broke ground in November 2002 and was completed in September.

The state-of-the-art medical building features office space, a bistro-style restaurant, auditorium and conference center capable of seating 350. The building's first two levels are clinical space to supplement the outpatient facilities of its sister project, the Ambulatory Clinical Building, another design-build project led by Hensel Phelps.

The structural-steel office building stands atop three levels of cast-in-place concrete, which totals 29,000 cu. yds. In one phase, Hensel Phelps poured 10,000 cu. yds. of concrete, on record as one of the top 10 largest pours in Houston. The building is linked to the Ambulatory Clinical Building via a seven-lane pedestrian bridge.

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Award of Excellence-Industrial (Heavy)
ExxonMobil Chemical Baytown Cogeneration Project Site Preparation
Submitted by: Cajun Constructors Inc., Baton Rouge, La.
Location:Baytown

Key Players:
Owner: ExxonMobil Chemical Co., Baytown
General Contractor: Cajun Constructors Inc., Baton Rouge, La.
Architect/Engineer: ExxonMobil Chemical Co., Baytown

In March 2003, ExxonMobil Chemical announced plans to expand its cogeneration facilities at its Baytown manufacturing complex. Cajun Constructors was awarded the contract in February 2003.

The expansion increases the energy efficiency at the complex's refinery and two chemical plants and helps decrease the region's emissions of greenhouse gases.

The project, located at Baytown Olefins Plant site, included the addition of a 160-megawatt gas-turbine generator, coupled with a heat-recovery unit that will produce 560,000 lbs. of steam per hour to be used in manufacturing.

Utilizing the most efficient technology available, the new cogeneration unit will produce both steam and electricity from clean-burning natural gas at an efficiency rate of about twice that of traditional power generation.

The $2.7 million site preparation contract was a heavy/civil project involving expanding one portion of an existing retention pond while reclaiming another portion to create a new site for the cogeneration unit.

Cajun Constructors self-performed 33,313 labor hours during a five-month period.

Award of Excellence-Design
Austin Resource Center for the Homeless
Submitted by: LZT Architects Inc., Austin
Location: Austin

Key Players:
Owner: City of Austin
General Contractor: Journeyman Construction, Austin
Architect: LZT Architects Inc., Austin
Civil Engineer: Urban Design Group, Austin
Structural Engineer: PE Structural Consultants Inc., Austin
MEP Engineer: Encotech Engineering, Austin

The $5 million Austin Resource Center for the Homeless is a 26,820-sq.-ft., three-story building and parking area. The new facility implemented many innovative architectural and engineering components, systems and building techniques.

ARCH was designed utilizing the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, and it incorporates green building practices. The building is designed to maximize the use of natural light, ventilation and views through openings in the building, courtyards and terraces. The building is on target to achieve a Silver LEED rating.

ARCH will be open to all homeless people and will provide centralized intake, information and referral, and basic services including showers, telephone and mail messaging, laundry facilities and computer access. Other services that help homeless people strive for self-sufficiency will be co-located at the resource center and include case management, mental-health outreach, legal aid and assistance for homeless children in the Austin Independent School District.

Award of Excellence-Industrial (Heavy)
Leon Creek Peaking Power Project
Submitted by: TIC-The Industrial Co. Gulf Coast Region, Kingwood
Location: San Antonio

Key Players:
Owner: City Public Services, San Antonio
General Contractor: TIC-The Industrial Co. Gulf Coast Region, Kingwood
Owner's Engineer: Parsons Brinckerhoff, Denver
Design/Engineer Services: Utility Engineering, Amarillo

The scope of the work for the Leon Creek Peaking Power Project included the design, manufacture, supply, delivery, storage, painting, commissioning, start-up and testing necessary to provide a fully operational power facility able to produce from 10 megawatts to approximately 195 megawatts of electrical power.

The power facility consists of four General Electric LM6000 Gas Turbine Generators and associated auxiliary cooling and sprint water injection systems.

Completed in June, the $44 million plant came online in just 10 months. Leon Creek Power Partners, a 70/30 joint venture between TIC-The Industrial Co. and Utility Engineering, with TIC as the managing partner, mobilized immediately and demolished the existing cooling towers.

Award of Excellence-Industrial (Heavy)
Shell Deer Park Refining Co. Hydroprocessing and Re-Instrumentation Project
Submitted by: Industrial Specialty Contractors, Houston
Location: Deer Park

Key Players:
Owner: Deer Park Refining Services, a Division of Shell Oil Products, U.S.
General Contractor: Industrial Specialty Contractors, Houston
Architect/Engineer: PC&E Inc., a Division of Emerson Process Management, St. Louis

Re-instrumentation of the five hydroprocessing units at Shell Deer Park is the largest installation of a Foundation Fieldbus system ever undertaken on the Gulf Coast, and one of the largest in the nation.

Because restarts are costly and lost production can be impossible to make up when the system is already operating near capacity, the plant was to continue operating while the work was done.

ISC set new standards for planning and worksite cooperation, completing an extraordinarily complex, hazardous assignment with a perfect safety record and zero environmental impact.

Timely, on budget, completion of the $8.8 million project was completed in less than two years without compromising quality or safety.

Award of Excellence-Sports/Entertainment
Keller Pointe Recreation and Aquatics Center
Submitted by: Thos. S. Byrne Ltd., Fort Worth
Location: Keller

Key Players:
Owner: City of Keller
General Contractor: Thos. S. Byrne Ltd., Fort Worth
Architect: Brinkley Sargent Architects, Dallas
Civil Engineer: Teague Nall & Perkins, Fort Worth
Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti Engineers, Dallas

The $13 million, 76,250-sq.-ft. recreation center is complete with an indoor leisure pool, meeting rooms, multipurpose rooms, fitness center, child-care space, aerobics and dance rooms and a gymnasium.

Outdoors, there is a leisure pool and pavilion with barbecue pit.

The Keller Pointe project is an example of exceptional architectural design and high-finish, high-quality construction. A dedicated and collaborative commitment to unparalleled excellence by the city of Keller, Brinkley Sargent Architects, Thos. S. Byrne, subcontractors and their craftsmen turned Keller's vision into a reality.

Award of Excellence-Health Care
Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital Ambulatory Care Center
Submitted by: Gilbane Building Co., Houston
Location: Beaumont

Key Players:
Owner: Christus Health System, Beaumont
General Contractor: Gilbane Building Co., Houston
Architect/Engineer: Hellmuth, Obata, & Kassabaum Inc., Houston

Gilbane Building Co. served as construction manager-at-risk for the state-of-the-art, $59.7 million addition to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont to provide the community with the finest and most convenient outpatient health care in Southeast Texas. The project began in August 2002 and was completed in May.

The 671,000-sq.-ft. Christus St. Elizabeth Ambulatory Care Center is organized to emphasize the major building components of the outpatient center and the medical office building. The three-story outpatient center is joined to the five-story medical office building with a three-story entry lobby and circulation core.

The project also included a six-story, 1,200-car parking facility.

The ambulatory care center is oriented on the site to provide high visibility and easy mobility through the site for parking and entry to the building. The facility provides physical connections to adjacent medical office buildings and the hospital through covered walkways and elevated overhead links.

Award of Excellence-Public Building
Austin Police Department Forensics Facility and Central East Substation
Submitted by: SpawGlass, Houston
Location: Austin

Key Players:
Owner: City of Austin, Austin Police Department
General Contractor: SpawGlass, Houston
Architect: TAG International LLP, Austin
Structural Engineer: Frank S. Lam Inc., Austin

The Austin Police Department decentralized and constructed a state-of-the-art $14.9 million crime lab. Through building and placing substations throughout Austin, the APD hopes to gain more community awareness of crime prevention. Having a state-of-the-art crime lab will alleviate the surplus of cases at the state crime lab and provide APD forensics personnel with the latest technology.

This unique law enforcement facility accommodates a 28,000-sq.-ft. police substation combined with a 50,000-sq.-ft. forensics facility as well as several special-operations units and community-outreach functions.

Austin city planners wanted a highly secure, but nonintimidating, facility that would integrate with the adjacent residential neighborhood and be viewed as accessible and user-friendly to the public. As a result, the facility has an approachable design that utilizes both highly technological and low-tech "passive" security strategies to make the building resistant to a variety of possible attacks, including bio-terrorism.

Award of Excellence-Design
Lampasas County Courthouse
Submitted by: Komatsu Architecture, Fort Worth
Location: Lampasas

Key Players:
Owner: Lampasas County
General Contractor: Phoenix 1 Restoration & Construction, Dallas
Architect: Komatsu Architecture Inc., Fort Worth
Structural Engineer: Frank W. Neil & Assoc. Inc., Fort Worth
MEP Engineer: Baird, Hampton & Brown Inc., Fort Worth

The Lampasas County Courthouse is one of the five oldest courthouses still in use for county government in the state of Texas. Situated in the heart of a Texas Main Street historic commercial district, the grand Second Empire-style building serves as the central hub of county business operations.

Its $3.9 million renovation was completed this year.

The structure is listed on the National Register and is recorded as a Registered Texas Historic Landmark, requiring the scope of the work to comply with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

Originally built in 1884, the W.C. Dodson-designed courthouse has endured two floods and extensive modifications in 1937, 1957 and 1984.

Award of Excellence-Renovation/Restoration
The Shops at Houston Center
Submitted by: Centex Construction Co., Dallas
Location: Houston

Key Players:
Owner: Crescent Real Estate Equities Ltd., Houston
General Contractor: Centex Construction Co., Dallas
Architect: Morris Architects, Houston
Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore & Associates, Houston
MEP Engineer: Redding Linden Burr, Houston

The Shops at Houston Center is a three-level retail building totaling 307,932 sq. ft. attached to the Houston Center Office building. The Houston Center Office complex contains more than 3 million sq. ft. of Class A office space.

As Houston's only downtown shopping mall and food court, about 5,000 consumers pass through The Shops every day.

In 2003, Crescent Real Estate selected Centex to renovate The Shops before Houston hosted the Super Bowl in February. The $4 million renovation took place from June 2003 through April 2004. Centex provided construction manager-at-risk services as well as preconstruction, value engineering and procurement/long lead items.

The nature of retail renovation meant that construction had to go forward without affecting foot traffic. Whenever possible, Centex scheduled construction at off-hours to alleviate any disruptions that might disturb tenants and costumers.

Award of Excellence-Hospitality
Hilton Austin
Submitted by: FaulknerUSA, Austin
Location: Austin

Key Players:
Owner: Austin Convention Enterprises, Austin
General Contractor: FaulknerUSA, Austin
Architect (conceptual): Cotera + Reed Architects, Austin
Architect of Record: Ellerbe Becket Architects, St. Louis
Civil Engineer: Malone Wheeler, Austin
MEP Engineer: Toft Wolf Farrow Inc, Orange, Calif.

The new Hilton Austin was unique both in its conception and completion. Developer and design-builder FaulknerUSA of Austin incorporated the latest advances in design and construction to meet the project's construction needs.

Among the challenges was the relocation and preservation of a historic structure on the site's footprint dating back to 1869, the former home of Alamo survivor Susanna Dickinson. Once that was completed, FaulknerUSA went to work in December 2003 on the $275 million project, which includes 800 hotel and 103 residential units and more than 60,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. The grand opening was celebrated on schedule in February.

Other features include a multilevel, 800-car parking garage; a 2.5-story "tower within a tower," an elliptical structure with an internal staircase connecting the lobby to a specialty restaurant; and a column-free, three-story, 27,586-sq.-ft. grand ballroom.

Award of Excellence-Education K-12
Luna Middle School
Submitted by: Joeris General Contractors Ltd., San Antonio
Location: San Antonio

Key Players:
Owner: Northside Independent School District, San Antonio
General Contractor: Joeris General Contractors Ltd., San Antonio
Architect: Garza/Bomberger & Associates, San Antonio
Civil Engineer: MW Cude Engineers, San Antonio

Luna Middle and Ott Elementary Schools are located in San Antonio's Northside ISD, the fastest growing in South Texas and the sixth fastest in the state. Two new schools were to be built on one site, under one project team. That team included a single architect and one construction manager-Joeris General Contractors.

The $32 million project covered both schools on more than 50 acres. The original 15-month schedule called for both schools to be open for the 2004-2005 school year.

Beginning in February of 2003, Joeris engaged in extensive preplanning for site management and communications, with one onsite project manager assisted by two project engineers. Successful completion was in July.

The use of Internet technology greatly facilitated reliable contact with offsite team members and helped to ensure the schools were completed on time and under budget.

Award of Excellence-Public Building
Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development Center
Submitted by: Cadence McShane Corp., Dallas
Location: Arlington

Key Players:
Owner: The University of Texas System, Dallas
General Contractor: Cadence McShane Corp., Dallas
Architect: VLK Architects, Arlington
Civil Engineer: Schrickel, Rollins & Associates Inc., Arlington
MEP Engineer: Wells Doak Engineers Inc., Fort Worth

The UT Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development is a two-story, 65,927-sq.-ft. center featuring classrooms, computer labs, break rooms, conference rooms and workrooms.

The brick and masonry building features a curved porch entryway and convenient parking surrounding the facility. Located on the University of Texas at Arlington campus, the facility serves as a one-stop career center that offers programs and services for job seekers and employers in the local area.

Contractor Cadence McShane was selected for its extensive experience on providing construction services to higher-education institutions. Starting in March 2003, the 12-month, $6.7 million project was completed on schedule.

Award of Excellence-Renovation/Restoration
Southern Methodist University Fondren Science Building
Submitted by: Centex Construction Co., Dallas
Location: Dallas

Key Players:
Owner: Southern Methodist University, Dallas
General Contractor: Centex Construction Co., Dallas
Architect: F&S Partners, Dallas
Structural Engineer: Brockette-Davis-Drake, Dallas
Mechanical Engineer: G&S Consulting Engineers, Dallas

Southern Methodist University has served the Dallas community for more than a century. Dallas-based Centex Construction Co. has a longstanding relationship with the university and was selected to renovate the Fondren Science Building.

The goal was to remodel the facility and transform it into a first-rate center for teaching and scientific research. Beginning in May 2003, there were three phases to the $8 million project, encompassing about 46,000 gross sq. ft. of the second and third floors and attic space.

Centex completed work on schedule in June. Classes and scientific research were conducted in the building during the entire construction process.

Award of Excellence-Higher Education/Research
University of North Texas Health Science Building
Submitted by: Austin Commercial LP, Dallas
Location: Fort Worth

Key Players:
Owner: University of North Texas, Denton
General Contractor: Austin Commercial LP, Dallas
Architect/Structural/MEP Engineer: Carter & Burgess, Fort Worth

The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Forth Worth has a new 190,000-sq.-ft., six-story facility from which to provide students and the community with an excellent foundation in clinical sciences. The building, containing research labs, offices and classrooms, houses both the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Public Health.

Austin Commercial LP was contracted to develop and construct the facility within the University of North Texas' existing Health Sciences property in Fort Worth. The selection was based on qualifications and a fee proposal.

Award of Excellence-Health Care
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Basic Sciences Research Building
Submitted by: Gilbane Building Co., Houston
Location: Houston

Key Players:
Owner: OFPC-UT, Houston
General Contractor: Gilbane Building Co., Houston
Architect/Engineer: FKP Architects, Houston

The massive Basic Science Research Building is a 525,000-sq.-ft. vivarium and lab facility with 280,000 sq. ft. of interstitial space. It is home to both the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas Health & Science Center Houston Research. This new facility will add to Houston's reputation as one of the most advanced, cutting-edge medical hubs in the world.

The $175 million project was awarded to Gilbane, which provided overall construction of the project and assisted the owner with the installation of systems unique to the facility as well as construction and project management.

In spite of unforeseen challenges such as the excavation of the entire project during Hurricane Allison, Gilbane was still able to deliver the completed facility well under the guaranteed-maximum price with 100 percent of the savings going to the owner.

Award of Excellence-Hospitality
Hilton Americas
Submitted by: Turner Construction Co., Houston
Location: Houston

Key Players:
Owner: Hines, Houston
General Contractor: Turner Construction Co., Houston
Design Architect: Arquitectonica, Miami
Architect of Record: Gensler, Houston
Interior Design Architect: Wilson Associates, Dallas

The Hilton Americas Houston Hotel is a new landmark for downtown Houston. Hilton Americas, the city's largest hotel, is a 1.2-million-sq.-ft. facility consisting of 25 stories above-grade and one below-grade.

Three skybridges directly connect to the George R. Brown Convention Center. A separate 562,000-sq.-ft., nine-story parking garage accommodates 1,600 vehicles.

Turner Construction Co. was given the task of having the hotel completed and operating several months before the arrival of guests for the Super Bowl in early February. The $200 million project began in December 2001 with one of the largest concrete foundation mats ever poured in Houston.

Award of Excellence-Specialty Construction
Reliant Park Carruth Plaza
Submitted by: Manhattan Construction Co., Houston
Location: Houston

Key Players:
Owner: Harris County Sports & Convention Corp.
General Contractor: Manhattan Construction Co., Houston
Architect: Hermes Architect, Houston
Civil Engineer: Turner Collie & Braden, Houston
Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore, Houston
MEP Engineer: Carter & Burgess, Houston

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is ranked as the world's largest rodeo. When the rodeo finished its 36-year run in the Reliant Astrodome and moved into Reliant Stadium, it was necessary to move with it eight bronze sculptures vital to the history of the rodeo.

With help from the Wortham Foundation, a local charitable organization, a plan was devised to design a park-like area for the sculptures, and the Carruth Rodeo Plaza project, named in honor of Wortham board trustee Allan H. "Buddy" Carruth, was born.

Located near Reliant Stadium, the plaza serves as a permanent home to the sculptures, located in "chapel" areas that include limestone walls as backdrops with a plaque describing each sculpture. Manhattan Construction Co. was already mobilized at the Reliant Stadium site and was tapped to build the $2.89 million plaza.