When a gift from the Stephen Bechtel Fund allowed a partial facilities overhaul at the Public Policy Institute of California, the challenge was to fit a large conference center into a relatively small infill space and configure it around a grid of imposing structural columns and a jungle of existing mechanical infrastructure.

Best Renovation/Restoration Project Photo courtesy of Stronghold Engineering The historic central courthouse was built in 1926. Photo courtesy of Stronghold Engineering Work included seismic upgrading, interior remodel and historic renovation. This $26.6-million multi-phased renovation project called for the seismic retrofit, partial interior remodel and historic renovation of more than 194,000 sq ft of the existing county courthouse in San Bernardino.The construction took place in two fully occupied and operational buildings with more than 500 staff members and daily occupancy exceeding 3,000 people.The historic central courthouse, a 102,535-sq-ft building with four floors, was constructed in 1926. It includes a central plant

Award of Merit Health Care Photo courtesy of Mortenson Construction The new tower is located at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett. The 12-story, 680,000-sq-ft Marshall and Katherine Cymbaluk Medical Tower dramatically alters the Providence Regional Medical Center campus and is the largest expansion project in Providence's more than 150-year history. It includes 368 patient rooms for acute, critical and surgical care; a parking structure; central plant; site, street and utility improvements; and an updated campus master plan.With virtual design and construction and BIM innovations, this $500-million project was completed five months ahead of schedule.Key PlayersOwner: Providence Regional Medical Center,

Achieving construction and design excellence in difficult economic times is no easy task. It requires equal measures of experience, imagination and unwavering commitment, according to this year's judges for ENR California's Best Projects competition.

Award of Merit Renovation/Restoration Photo courtesy of W.E. O'Neil Construction The project earned LEED silver certification. This $19-million project was a complete renovation of an existing six-story, 67,000-sq-ft structure. The project team transformed a landmark building, constructed in 1927 for light manufacturing, into a self-contained community that provides housing, meals and support services to more than 2,000 homeless and low-income women each year.Upgrades to the existing concrete structure included extensive seismic improvements to meet current building codes, but the historic and aesthetic appeal of the original facade and exterior was preserved.A new reflective PVC roofing system helped the project earn

Award of Merit Landscape/Hardscape/Urban Development Photo courtesy of the city of Los Angeles The project site covers more than six acres. The Elephants of Asia project site covers 6.1 acres and consists of a new 16,600-sq-ft, state-of-the-art elephant barn, six visitor viewing areas and three water features.According to the city of Los Angeles' Bureau of Engineering, which managed the design and construction of the $42-million project, the exhibit comprises four elephant yards, each with its own distinct character and story. The landscaping is reflective of the areas in Asia where elephants are native. The design goal was to create a

Best Green Building Project Photo courtesy of Facebook The Prineville complex focuses on energy efficiency. Facebook spent two years designing and constructing its first custom-built data center from the ground up—building servers, power supplies, server chassis and electrical systems.The Facebook Prineville Data Center, located in the open high desert of central Oregon, is a large, prominent building. In concept it is a nearly featureless, warm-colored concrete wall that matches colors and tones of the surrounding rocky landscape.One of the goals for the project team was to build the most energy-efficient data center in the world. To reach that end, it

Best Office Project Photo couresty of Clark Construction Clark Construction served as general contractor on the project. Photo courtesy of Clark Construction The project earned LEED platinum certification. California Independent System Operator's new $113-million, 278,000-sq-ft Iron Point headquarters in Folsom has three wings, each serving a distinct function and each created with a different structural system.The building's two-story public wing houses a main lobby and reception area as well as training rooms, a board room, a cafeteria and support facilities.The mission-critical wing supports essential services, including a transmission grid operations center and 40,000-sq-ft data center. The three-story office wing accommodates

Award of Merit Health Care Photo courtesy of Clark Construction Entry to the tower is via a three-story atrium. The $315-million, 400,000-sq-ft Tom and Billie Long Patient Care Tower has six stories and an underground loading dock and central utility plant. The tower adds 242 patient beds, 230 of them private, to the existing medical center.The building is a steel-braced frame with concrete slab over metal deck with exterior finishes that include curtain wall; storefront and punched windows; and precast, stone, metal and plaster systems. The entry sequence opens into a two-story lobby featuring a three-story, central circular rotunda filled

Best Health Care Project Photo courtesy of HMH Builders Kaiser Permanente's modernized Santa Rosa Medical Center. This $150-million phased hospital campus expansion, renovation and upgrade program in Sonoma County for Kaiser Permanente consisted of a new 148,400-sq-ft, six-story hospital tower and expanded emergency, radiology, intensive-care unit obstetrics and medical/surgical departments. It also included adding 58 beds and 17 emergency-department treatment bays and constructing two support buildings, totaling 17,000 sq ft.Renovation of the existing hospital included changes to information technology departments, a new nurse call system, replacement of fire alarms and building control systems.Among the technological innovations was the use of