From a new museum on a World War II vintage aircraft carrier, to man-made island resort in the Arabian Gulf, to America’s largest public school construction and renovation initiative, a dozen projects of all sizes and types were honored recently for excellence in construction management.
The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) bestowed its 2005 Project Achievement Awards during its National Conference in Huntington Beach, CA, in September. More than 670 people attended the gathering.
The Project Achievement Award winners were selected from more than 70 entries.
The winners are:
• Alexandria Sanitation Authority Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade, Alexandria, VA, was presented the Excellence in Program Management With Constructed Value Greater than $100 Million — Completed Program award.
Construction management was by CH2M HILL.
More than 20 structures on this 22-acre site were involved in this rehab and modernization project designed to enhance the quality of treated water discharged into the Potomac River.
The project presented a number of complexities, beginning with the site itself. All excavated soil was contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons and intermixed with solid waste, so it required special handling. More than 8,600 100-ton and 50-ton steel H-piles had to be driven — and without damaging existing 72-in. interceptor and underground tunnels.
CH2M HILL’s services contributed to seamless construction from the design and award phase through completion. Scheduling was under additional pressure due to the owner’s need to meet state-mandated deadlines for components of the project.
Despite its great complexity, the project was completed 40 calendar days early.
• Los Angeles Unified School District for its New School Construction and Modernization and Repair program was presented the Excellence in Program Management with Constructed Value Greater than $100 Million — Ongoing Program award.
Construction management by LAUSD Facilities Services Division.
This is the largest public school construction and repair program in America’s history. Spending more than $15 billion on 16,500 repair projects, 160 brand new schools, and 80 school additions, LAUSD is transforming the city’s schools and adding approximately 200,000 new classroom seats.
The impact of this initiative on the city’s future cannot be calculated.
Among the innovations driving this project, the district created a special Small Business program and achieved an agreement with all of its building trade unions to ensure the quantity and quality of labor available to contractors. The district even created a program providing local residents with an opportunity to enroll in a comprehensive 10-week pre-apprenticeship training programs leading to possible jobs on the schools project.
• First Baptist Church of Woodstock, GA, was presented the Excellence in Program Management with Constructed Value Between $20 Million to $100 Million award.
Construction management by Gleeds.
At 405,000 sq. ft., and rising 185 ft., this imposing structure includes a 7,000-seat sanctuary with additional seating for choir and orchestra, along with a 52,000-sq.-ft. preschool and a dramatic three-story lobby.
Gleeds’ involvement in pre-construction planning, estimating and value engineering enabled the Church to optimizing the value it received for its budget, and careful schedule management meant that despite an unusually rainy season the project finished two weeks ahead of schedule.
In mid-project the lender reduced its commitment, and Gleeds had to guide a series of decisions to reduce its scope while still meeting the church’s overall ministry needs.
• Outbound Baggage Handling System and Security Enhancements at Tampa International Airport, was presented the Public Project With Constructed Value Greater than $100 Million award.
Construction management by Skanska USA Building Inc.
This project was undertaken to meet enhanced aviation security requirements established by the Transportation Security Administration.
It involved integrating an explosive detective system into an automated baggage handling system.
This had never been done before: a fully automated baggage handling system that features inline explosion detection screening of all passenger bags, and the project had to be executed within an existing, operating airport.
Skanska was involved in the project from the very beginning. Because the owner wanted to move the baggage screening operation out of the ticketing lobby as quickly as possible, Skanska used a fast-track approach, with design and construction going on simultaneously at many times.
• Mansfield Senior High School in Mansfield, OH, was presented the Public Project with Constructed Value Less than $100 Million award.
Construction management by Gilbane.
This is the largest single building project funded by the Ohio School Facilities Commission, a 354,000-sq.-ft. comprehensive educational campus that includes a 2,500-seat gym, a 900-seat auditorium, and extensive other facilities.
To accommodate the harsh mid-Ohio winter, the project team worked in phases, enclosing large parts of the project before winter so that interior work could proceed during the cold months.
This aggressive scheduling strategy enabled Gilbane to meet a spring occupancy date, giving the school district ample time to commission the new building before it went into operation in the fall.
• Providence St. Joseph Hospital, Burbank, CA, was presented the Private Project with Constructed Value Less than $100 Million award.
Construction Management by The JCM Group.
The Northridge, CA, earthquake of 1994 severely damaged the hospital, and The JCM Group has been centrally involved in helping to rebuild this important community resource.
JCM helped the hospital re-engineer its entire rebuilding effort to bring the project within budget and deliver a new facility that did not merely restore but actually improved what had been there before.
During construction, the owner decided to implement significant changes to the design to incorporate improved technology and other improvements.
JCM still brought the project in ahead of schedule and on budget, providing substantial savings and helping the hospital generate revenue by receiving patients earlier than expected.
• Clipper Magazine Stadium, Lancaster, PA, was presented the Public Project with Constructed Value Between $10 Million to $29 Million award.
Construction Management by the joint venture of Warfel Construction and Barton Malow Construction Services.
This 6,200-seat minor league baseball stadium was constructed on an extraordinarily fast schedule to meet an inflexible deadline.
At every preconstruction stage, estimates were higher than the budget, and significant value engineering efforts were required. In addition, Barton Malow’s experience with similar sports facilities enabled the construction managers to identify potential problem areas early in the process.
The site itself presented a variety of challenges. The site was an abandoned railroad yard, with several underground fuel storage tanks, contaminated soil, and structurally unsuitable soil. The combination of a difficult site, a tight budget and a compressed schedule called for maximum creativity from the construction management team.
• Hudson Valley Transportation Management Center, Hawthorne, NY, was presented the Public Project with Constructed Value Between $30 Million to $50 Million award.
Construction Management by Jacobs Facilities.
Among Jacobs’ first contributions to the project was the determination that the initial design documents were only approximately one-quarter complete and left many issues unresolved. Jacobs then spearheaded a new design effort and helped the owners re-establish the focus of the project.
More than $14 million in scope changes were ordered after construction had begun. The magnitude of these changes compelled the team to work together even more efficiently.
Jacobs followed a fast-track approach that enabled the project to keep moving even while this major addition was being planned.
Despite 522 RFIs, 1,148 submittals, and 83 change orders, the project closed within the revised schedule and budget.
• Country Inn and Suites, New Orleans, LA, was presented the Private Project with Constructed Value Less than $50 Million award.
Construction Management by Hanscomb, Faithful & Gould.
This 155-room hotel was constructed from seven historic buildings.
Design and construction had to follow strict guidelines. New doors and windows had to be fabricated to match the originals. New wood structures were used to support rotted materials, arches were cut in existing walls, and entirely new electrical, mechanical and conveying systems replaced the existing systems.
The project team also had to deal with different floor elevations in four of the seven old buildings, as well as an original exterior wall that was 18 in. out of vertical.
• Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY, was presented the Public Project with Construction Value Less than $10 Million award.
Construction management by Greyhawk North America.
The Academy of Music was completed in 1907 and designated a landmark in 1978.
Renovation of the exterior included reproduction of missing elements and refurbishment of marble columns, stained glass transoms. parapets, windows, brickwork, and the roof.
The facility remained operational throughout the project, and Greyhawk designed a special scrim to camouflage the scaffolding. This scrim included a ginger bread cake design mounted to a nylon mesh screen. It turned out to be both a structural and aesthetic success.
Among the technical challenges overcome during this project was reproduction of terra cotta elements with lighter but stronger modern materials, careful reproduction of authentic details, and some very inclement weather.
• Michael Tyler Fisher Center for Education, USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York, NY, was presented the Private Project with Constructed Value Less than $10 Million award.
Construction Management by Hudson Meridian Construction Group.
The USS Intrepid is a de-commissioned World War II era aircraft carrier now moored in the Hudson River as a Sea, Air and Space Museum.
The new Education Center is a three-level conference center and children’s educational facility totaling approximately 18,000 sq. ft.
Client commitments required that the entire job be accomplished in just six months.
The key design feature, a glass curtain wall spanning the width of the ship, required demolition of the shipbuilder’s steel and construction of new structural steel. Hudson Meridian’s expertise in marine construction enabled them to monitor and adjust to the almost continuous motion of the ship.
The entire project was fast-tracked, relying on web-based project management and a variety of technical innovations.
• Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, was presented the International Project of the Year award.
Construction management by Hill International.
This massive project essentially involved building three new islands.
Each of these enormous islands required more than 131 million cu. yds. (100 million cu m) of soil, most of which was dredged from two nearby ports, then specially prepared and installed so as to resist erosion and provide a secure surface for construction. More than 60 seagoing vessels worked on this project.
Hill went to particular lengths to assure environmental integrity, using natural seabed material and creating a natural topography.
The result is one of the world’s largest man-made structures, which will include 2,400 homes, 20 to 30 hotels, themed entertainment and other tourist attractions.
For more information, visit www.cmaa.net.org.
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