Approximately 75% of the Sam Houston State University College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building’s first level was below ground and surrounded by an 18-in.-thick retaining wall, which had to be completed before the remainder of the second level slab-on-grade could be finished. Photo: Geoff Lyons Related Links: Best of 2009 Award of Excellence Slideshow Best Of Slideshow The construction of the foundations was particularly challenging after the discovery of ground water that did not appear on the soils report. The contractor, SpawGlass, elected to use a tower crane to erect the steel superstructure because the construction site was too

The St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital team faced a potentially project-ending problem soon after construction of the new facility began, but it pulled together to keep the job on track. The initial construction budget outlined the use of a spread-footing foundation for the five-story, 335,000-sq-ft hospital and medical office building, a method that is typically cheaper than piers. However, a detailed evaluation showed that this type of foundation would not work. Photo: Carl Mayfield Related Links: Best of 2009 Best Of Slideshow Award of Excellence Slideshow A collaborative effort established early in the design process among all project team members

Construction of the ProCure Proton Therapy Center, the first private practice proton therapy treatment center in the United States, required intense coordination and extreme precision to ensure accuracy. The 53,630-sq-ft facility will bring lifesaving proton therapy—the use of a controlled beam of protons to eradicate and halt the growth of cancer cells in a tumor—to 1,500 cancer patients per year. Photo: Procure Inc Related Links: Best of 2009 Award of Excellence Slideshow Best Of Slideshow This project was difficult because of the complexities of building a concrete structure into which all conduit and systems had to be embedded. With no

As part of its rebranding efforts, Thompson & Knight relocated its corporate headquarters to the Arts District of downtown Dallas. In addition to a bold new design, the 120-year-old law firm is seeking LEED silver certification, a first for any law firm in the state of Texas. Photo: Roger Hein/Heinsight Photography Related Links: Best of 2009 Best Of Slideshow Award of Excellence Slideshow Totaling 180,000 sq ft over six floors, the new headquarters is located in One Arts Plaza, a newly constructed 24-story multiuse building in the heart of the fast-growing Arts District. The location gives the firm street visibility,

The Trinity River Audubon Center transforms a former brownfield in South Dallas into a site for a sustainable green building. Once used as an illegal dumping ground, the site contained 1.5 million tons of construction debris accumulated over a 15-year period. Crews consolidated the waste into capped rolling hills replanted with prairie grass and hardwood trees. The Trinity Interpretive Center, along with the newly built multipurpose trails and the natural surroundings, will be used for recreation and education for the community. Photo: Michael Lyons Photography Related Links: Best of 2009 Award of Excellence Slideshow Best Of Slideshow Designed by renowned

The Union Station is the first Dallas building to earn a triple historical designation: it appears on the National Register of Historic Places and is recognized as a historical landmark by the city of Dallas and state of Texas. Its meticulous renovation breathes life back into the 93-year-old building. Photo: Leigh Christian Related Links: Best of 2009 Best Of Slideshow Award of Excellence Slideshow Work on the 59,872-sq-ft former rail station – now reborn as a mixed-use mass transit center – included 45,000 sq ft of dedicated event space, a 10,000-sq-ft commercial kitchen and 4,500 sq ft of office space.

Construction estimates for the renovation and new addition to the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts proved to be higher than those established in the early design phase, requiring the construction manager-at-risk, Thos. S. Byrne Ltd., to offer considerable value engineering options. Related Links: Best of 2009 Award of Excellence Slideshow Best Of Slideshow The preconstruction team prepared a list of more than 70 cost-saving ideas totaling $4.9 million; 95% of which were accepted. The construction manager also suggested releasing the project in additional phases to facilitate the start of construction. Seven guaranteed maximum price

Contractors overcame a number of challenges during the construction of the Watervue at North Beach apartment complex project. Because the ground was primarily rock, Jordan Construction had to build retaining walls that were between 14 ft and 16 ft high in order to contain the rock. While most of the rock was excavated, some was used as backfill to raise the elevation in some areas due to a significant slope in topography. Related Links: Best of 2009 Best Of Slideshow Award of Excellence Slideshow Within the project’s first quarter, it had been decided that the first-floor unit floors would be

Located in front of the 1100 Louisiana building in the center of downtown Houston, construction of the new Enterprise Plaza Fountain required detailed planning by the project team. Crews worked nights and weekends to create the intricate water feature to avoid interactions with pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Related Links: Best of 2009 Best Of Slideshow Award of Excellence Slideshow Since the project was built over an existing loading dock, the new piping had to be incorporated with existing equipment. The effort required meticulous planning, since every pipe location had to be re-routed from the original design in the drawings to

The federal government’s Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing at Fort Bliss consisted of multiple two-story permanent modular buildings. The personal and more comfortable housing units are small apartments with private sleeping rooms and shared kitchen and bath units for two soldiers. Related Links: Best of 2009 Best Of Slideshow Award of Excellence Slideshow The apartment-style housing was designed within the framework of a promenade in order to create a livable and sustainable community for enlisted personnel. The design-build team configured the buildings in a U-shape that creates smaller building-based communities within each building’s internal courtyard. The buildings have been oriented to