On August 1, ENR Southeast announced the winners of its Regional Best Projects 2024 competition, a selection of projects that exemplify the best in project management, design, craftsmanship and construction in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Carolina North, South Carolina, Tennessee and Puerto. rich
Now is the time to announce the winners of ENR Southeast’s Safety Excellence and Sustainability Excellence competitions, a set of four projects that highlight commitment, innovation and program execution of sustainability and security that stand out as the best in the Southeast.
Our Sustainability Contest judges were Cy Reichert, Senior Director of Environmental Projects at VRX Inc. and Jacqui Hart, Director of Sustainability, Goodwyn Mills Cawood.
The judges for the safety competition were David Dickson, Director of Health, Safety and Environment, Dewberry and Steve Sawyer, Director of Safety Operations, Brasfield & Gorrie.
The judges refrained from scoring projects in which they had conflicts of interest.
All but two of these projects also won awards in the main competition, so be sure to check out the full list of winners here, and be sure to check out the October edition of ENR Southeast, where we’ll announce which project is Project of the Year, and where we will profile all the winners in more detail.
Along with our Best Projects winners, ENR Southeast will honor these winners in Orlando on October 29th at our annual Regional Best Projects event, along with Companies of the Year and the ENR Southeast Legacy Award winner, where we will also honor the owner of ENR Southeast. of the Year, Design Firm of the Year, Contractor of the Year, Specialty Contractor of the Year and Legacy Award Winner. To register or learn more about the event, click here.
Congratulations to our winners and finalists!
Best project, excellence in sustainability
Central Energy Plant: construction and infrastructure for the Wake Tech East campus, located in Wendell, North Carolina
Presented by Skanska USA Building Inc.
Skanska’s work on this project ushered in Wake Tech’s new technology and workforce-focused campus, powered by the new power plant that features geothermal and solar capacity. The first building on the new campus, the plant was built with sustainable materials and features nearly 300 500-foot-deep geothermal wells and 56 miles of piping. It uses a third less energy and emits half the carbon than traditional boiler/chilling installations, while 306 high-efficiency solar panels produce enough electricity to power 15 homes.
Award for Merit, Excellence in Sustainability
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens – Living Energy Access Facility (LEAF), located in Sarasota, Florida.
Presented by Willis A. Smith Construction Inc.
Designed around an 80-foot tree, the Living Energy Access Facility (LEAF) at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota was built to be among the most sustainable of its kind on the planet. It is pursuing Living Building Challenge recognition, a certification that exceeds the requirements for LEED certifications, and was designed to be hurricane-resistant, built with post-tensioned concrete on shallow foundations and stone columns. It’s powered by a 50,000-square-foot solar array capable of powering the building and offsetting 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, while campus-wide stormwater is filtered through a 140,000-gallon vault before being circulated by bioswaves and deposited in a nearby bayou. .
Finalist for Excellence in Security and Project of the Year
Midtown Union, located in Atlanta
Submitted by Brasfield & Gorrie
The project team was able to successfully navigate a complex site in urban Atlanta to safely deliver this mixed-use skyscraper with glass curtain walls. Juggling the constant operation of four tower cranes working simultaneously with mobile dozers within a single city block meant meticulous coordination and attention to detail, as well as innovation. The project was completed with an OSHA recordable incident rate of 0.51 and zero lost time accidents for over 386,000 work hours. The project team used cutting-edge technology and innovative sustainability features in the construction of the project, which includes an office tower, a residential building and a hotel.
Merit Award, Excellence in Security
Brightline Florida Higher-Speed Rail, located in Orlando
Presented by Herzog Contracting
The 129-mile runway connecting West Palm Beach in South Florida to Cocoa and then Orlando International Airport was completed in just 46 months, with all the work done within a century-old right-of-way. This second main track will carry trains at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour, and its construction required crews to move 400,000 cubic yards of earth, place more than 400,000 ties and lay 456,000 feet of continuous welded rail. Through more than 4.7 million man hours, the project recorded an OSHA recordable incident rate of 1.12 and a lost time accident rate of 0.21.
Finalist project of the year:
United Therapeutics cGMP Warehouse, located in Durham, North Carolina
Presented by DPR Construction
Much more than just a warehouse, this state-of-the-art production facility for United Therapeutics is the company’s second net-zero building on its campus in Durham’s Research Triangle Park. Featuring 500-foot-deep geothermal wells that harness the earth’s core temperatures to regulate building systems, as well as solar and on-site microgrids with rooftop batteries, the project achieved LEED Gold, LEED Zero Carbon and Energy certifications Star.
Brightline Florida – East West Connector, located in Orlando, Florida.
Presented by HNTB Corp.
Brightline’s ambitious East-West Connector project navigated the congested Orlando International Airport for a seamless alignment of new rail tracks with 10 curves, 20 grade separations and 15 vertical grade changes in just three miles. An innovative design rerouted the railroad under Interstate 95, saving $25 million and six months on the project, which became the first in North America to build perpendicular box-stake tunnel segments outside alignment and then placing them in place under a road system that carried live traffic. .
