Pentagon Renovation Wins Award From Design-Build Institute of America

The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) honored project excellence and industry leaders during its awards ceremony at the 2011 Design-Build Conference and Expo in Orlando, FL. “We’re thrilled to celebrate the people and projects that have made design-build the fastest growing project delivery method in the U.S.,” said Lisa Washington, executive director of DBIA. “Not only have these winners stimulated innovation and highlighted sustainability, but they have raised the bar by achieving excellence in cost, schedule, and quality.”

Design-builder Hensel Phelps Construction Co. won Best Overall Project for the Pentagon Renovation Program. Called the most complex renovation project in contemporary history, the renovation of Wedges 2-5 at the Pentagon updated 4 million square feet of space. Renovation included a state-of-the-art command center and required shifting 25,000 occupants around the building multiple times to allow for the renovation.

The first annual Excellence in Design award was presented to design-builder DPR Construction for the UCSF Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building in San Francisco, CA. Constructed on the hillside of UCSF’s Parnassus Campus, the $123-million building houses facilities for medical and stem cell research and is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Walker Lee Evey won the Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding leadership and promotion of the design-build method including his tenure as president of DBIA from 2004 until 2009. Evey served as program manager for the 10-year, $4 billion Pentagon Renovation Program, during which he championed the use of design-build to achieve cost savings of $100 million below budget and completion 14 months ahead of schedule, despite the 9/11 attacks. He also fulfilled a promise to rebuild the damaged sections within one year of the attack on the Pentagon.