Government Building Award of Merit - New U.S. Embassy Ankara, Turkey

U.S. embassies are never simple. They are multifaceted self-contained villages with strict security, both in design and construction. They are often hampered by local workforces with different language, culture and construction practices.

The Ankara embassy project was no different. But it was further complicated by a global pandemic and an inexperienced local workforce. BL Harbert International worked around the latter problem by bringing in 60 third-country nationals to mentor about 900 Turks in the crafts and in safety procedures, all the time following COVID-19 protocols.

To aid the job, the contractor used technology, including drone photography and integrated 3-D topographical mapping, for planning. The tools were used for the mass excavation and to address the impacts of shoring, deep utility coordination and related trench locations, building construction coordination and more. The strategies helped move the nearly $265-million project to the finish line on time and on budget.