Texas’ Best Projects of the Year

‘08 Proves Stellar Year for Completed Projects

The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, submitted by Linbeck, won the Judges Award in the construction category.

The magazine presents the 63 winners of the twelfth annual “Best of” competition, honoring excellence in construction and design in Texas.

The entries were plentiful and strong. More than 150 entries were received from across the state in a wide variety of categories. Submitting firms ranged from general contractors and developers to architects, engineers and specialty contractors. Projects came in a variety, too, from large scale, well-funded private facilities to small-but-resourceful nonprofit projects. A jury of five distinguished construction and design professionals judged the submissions in mid-August. The members of the jury perused each entry and voted on the required criteria. If a juror was affiliated with a project in any way, he or she abstained from voting. This year’s judges were: Lora-Marie Bernard, executive director, USGBC-Houston; Paula Clements, Hon. Texas Society of Architects, executive director, Dallas AIA; Jack Flanders, construction writer and public-relations consultant, Arlington; Manuel A. Garcia, P. E., associate director, Construction Industry Institute, The University of Texas at Austin; Dr. Charles W. Graham, AIA, FRICS, former executive associate dean, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, and newly appointed dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Architecture.

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The winning projects, presented on the following pages, are those that scored highest based on a five-point rating. Projects were ranked and on five criteria: project management; construction or design innovation; client service; and either safety (for construction entries) or and design unity (for design entries).

A project is eligible for a “Best of” award in a category when a minimum of three eligible entries are submitted in that category. The highest scoring entry wins the “Best of” award for that group. In the renovation category this year, a tied score, unusual in the competition, produced two Best of awards in that category. An unlimited number of projects are eligible for an “Award of Excellence” or an “Award of Merit” based on points.

Texas Construction wishes to acknowledge all the hard work and thank all submitters to this year’s competition.