The new $90-million Penta Career Center in Perrysburg, Ohio, is a three-story, 522,000-sq-ft landmark with three wings and a center core. The new facility is more than 200,000 sq ft larger than the old school and has a capacity for 2,000 students, including high school 10th graders who enroll in the new Sophomore Exploration Program that was introduced this school year. Photo: CHRISTOPHER LARK Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Instead of a series of similar classroom areas, the varied curriculum requires a large number of classroom and lab areas with distinctly different construction requirements, fixtures and equipment.

The new $13-million Rosa Parks Transit Center in downtown Detroit is the city-owned hub of an intermodal transit system that includes taxis; local, regional, interstate, and international buses; and two nearby stations for the elevated Detroit People Mover. Long-term plans include connecting it to a future light-rail system. Photo: © Clayton Studios Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The small, oddly angled site holds several busways; taxi stands; a 27,500-sq-ft terminal building with climate-controlled waiting area, retail services, and transit-police offices; and an eye-catching 73-ft-high canopy of tensioned white fabric. Having room for vehicles was a top priority,

In May, 2003, heavy rain led to the activation and failure of a fuse plug spillway at the Silver Lake Dam in a remote area of Marquette County, Mich. The resulting breach emptied the reservoir of 8 billion gallons of water and devastated the downstream river system. Loss of the Silver Lake Storage Basin also resulted in lost electric generation at downstream hydroelectric plants because spring runoff could no longer be stored to help generate power during dry months. The Upper Peninsula Power Co. determined that Silver Lake needed to be reconstructed to continue augmenting flow to the two hydroelectric

For the interior renovation of Societe Generale’s office space on the 38th floor of 190 S. LaSalle St., Chicago, designers sought to emphasize the arch of the barrel-vaulted window casings by incorporating converse rectilinear architecture within the space. The straight lines of the office fronts and other architectural details offset and emphasize the window casings. A mix of wood and glass allows a degree of visual privacy for the office dwellers, while providing clear views and natural day-lighting for employees seated at work stations in central work areas. Photo: PADGETT & CO Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards

Construction of the $215-million Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital expanded a medical office building into a uniquely styled full-service hospital designed to make patients and visitors feel at more ease. The public areas look like a homey village main street or a northern-Michigan lodge. Photo: COURTESY OF HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Clinical areas are carefully kept out of site, and all in-patients stay in private single rooms that offer beautiful views and are decorated with colors and curves that create a soothing environment. The construction added an energy center, three in-patient towers,

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is a new $7.3-million Byzantine church that is modeled loosely on the Hagia Sophia and sits on a 20-acre site in Carmel, Ind. The design includes a 55-ft-dia. dome that was built and raised up from the ground, bronze doors weighing 600 pounds each as the grand entrance, and the ability to accommodate more than 600 worshipers. Photo: © Shawn Hitchcock Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church was the first Triad Byzantine-design church constructed since the Hagia Sophia, built more than 1,400 years ago. There are no

The Gwen and Jules Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery at the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park Campus is a new 330,760-sq-ft research building. Photo: NICK MERRICK Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards More than half of it is dedicated to The Institute for Molecular Pediatric Sciences, which focuses on improving children’s health through team research on how genes influence disease. The remainder is the new headquarters of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center and houses the Ludwig Center, which studies how cancer spreads. Key Players Owner: University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago General Contractor: Turner Construction Co.,

The $16-million Hanna Theatre renovation consists of the complete renovation of an historic theater that was originally constructed in 1921 as part of the 480,000-sq-ft Hanna Building complex in downtown Cleveland. The original theater was designed by architect Charles A. Platt with a Pompeian theme, and includes intricate coffered plaster ceilings, ornate private boxes, and faux travertine wall finishes. Photo © Scott Pease Photography Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The Hanna Theatre renovation is the final component of PlayhouseSquare’s 27-year restoration of its five historic grand theaters. Key Players Owner: PlayhouseSquare, Cleveland General Contractor: Turner Construction Co.,

The heavily wooded site for a new $6- million nature center for the Bolingbrook (Ill.) Park District influenced the building’s design to be similar to a tree house. The design places the nature center between two large oaks with decks around both trees, creating a treehouse feeling. Photo: PAUL SCHLISMANN PHOTOGRAPHY Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The project is pursuing LEED Platinum certification and has currently achieved LEED Gold through the initial design submittal. Project highlights include: two early-education classrooms, two multi-use rooms, staff offices and interpretive displays; a green roof; constructed wetlands for black water cleansing;

This $45-million, 65,000-sq-ft, four-story museum and education facility in Skokie, Ill., is the largest center in the Midwest dedicated to preserving the memories of those lost in the Holocaust and to teaching current generations about their role in combating intolerance and genocide in today’s world. Photo: COURTESY OF RONALD GALL, OWNER SERVICES GROUP, INC. Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards It consists of permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, a youth exhibition space, art gallery, auditorium, “reflection” space, classrooms, research library, and museum offices. Its design presents two related concepts: the reality of the Holocaust to the younger generations