The 2023 ENR Northwest Best Projects competition featured a host of innovative projects that spanned the construction and design spectrum.

With leases on office space set to expire, the Texas Dept. of Transportation aimed to complete its new campus and relocate employees on an accelerated schedule. This led the agency to use a CMAR delivery for the first time.

As part of the federal permanent injunction regarding culvert corrections, this $25-million design-build project corrected two fish barriers and replaced them with four fish passable structures.

With a mix of unit types, diverse interior and exterior amenities, and a unified biophilic design, this 21-story “pedestrian to campus” high-rise for University of Washington students was inspired by columnar basalt in volcanic formations.

In order to demolish and rebuild a working restaurant and bar across a 10,640-sq-ft site in five months, the team, which started construction with incomplete drawings, engaged the design-build process as work progressed.

The complete renovation of the US Bank Center’s 100,000-sq-ft, three-story open-air entry lobby in downtown Seattle took more than two years and 26,000 work hours to complete.

To complete a much needed expansion for Gensler’s Seattle office to cover the entire fifth floor of 1200 6th Avenue, crews had to find new ways to work with limited budget and resources.

The $156-million, 276,000-sq-ft Mountain View High School replaces the original facility that was built in 1981. Featuring safety and security updates, the new campus has a more compact footprint, with two- and three-story classroom wings, a gymnasium, auditorium, kitchen and cafeteria, media center, front offices, support space, collaboration areas and career and technical education spaces.

Zurich-based On Inc. joined the athletic apparel scene in 2010 and selected Portland for its first North American offices.

Completed in December 2022, the $7.9-million Union Street Pedestrian Bridge provides an accessible connection between Seattle’s downtown core and the waterfront.