AGC of America is proud to announce Skanska USA won the 2016 AGC/Alliant Build America environmental enhancement award for the West Riverfront Park Redevelopment project in Nashville, Tenn. In addition, several other winning projects included notable environmental attributes whether it was a green building, mitigation or sensitivity. You can read the program for the 2016 awards here.
The AGC/Alliant Build America Awards offers a category that focuses solely on the environmental aspects of a project such as wetland mitigation, ground water clean-up or reclaiming and/or remediating an environmentally contaminated site (e.g., brownfields, superfund, illegal dumping site, and abandoned mine). The request for entry submissions usually begins in the early fall, and AGC announces the opportunity in the Observer.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT (WINNER)
West Riverfront Park Redevelopment
Nashville, TN
Skanska USA
Lead Architect:
Hawkins Partners, Inc.
The West Riverfront project, the urban renewal of a former thermal plant, was the first phase of the City of Nashville’s new riverfront development. Originally designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, Skanska USA secured enough LEED points during construction to achieve Gold. Major project components included the 1.5-acre Ascend Amphitheater with capacity for up to 6,800 people, redevelopment of 1st Avenue, a 45-foot-tall sculpture mimicking the flow of the nearby Cumberland River and the Betty Brown Tree Trail that includes 225 individual trees representing 43 different species. In completing these components, Skanska turned a large brownfield site in downtown Nashville into a unique event venue using 22 percent less energy than the average LEED baseline and with six percent of its energy needs met by onsite renewable geothermal and solar energy generation systems. Measures were taken to minimize soil erosion along the river with biweekly soil erosion inspections and rainfall monitored daily to prevent waterway sedimentation. In addition, Skanska proactively worked to reduce energy used onsite during construction
Green Building
Design-Build Building Category Winner
Benjamin P. Grogan & Jerry L. Dove Federal Building
Miramar, FL
Hensel Phelps
Lead Architect:
Gensler
Lead Engineer:
Syska Hennessy Group; Atkins; Walter P Moore
Totaling 383,000 square feet, the completion of this project consolidated a federal agency’s forces, previously spread across 12 separate locations. This LEED-certified project included enhanced security specifications and the construction of an enclosed parking structure and multiple buildings on a 20-acre site. This federal building includes a cutting edge all-glass curtainwall system that allows natural light to penetrate deep into the building; at the same time, the structure has met stringent specifications for federal buildings set forth by the General Services Administration (GSA) and hurricane wind-withstanding code requirements in South Florida. The Hensel Phelps team was able to achieve LEED Platinum for core and shell and LEED Gold for commercial interiors. The project also included a one-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) system mounted to the roof, which offset nearly 20 percent of the campus’ total energy cost. Hensel Phelps faced a significant time setback following a change order, but they worked closely with the owner and vendors to shorten lead times. This achievement brought the project in under budget so that the savings could be reapplied to the project, ultimately enhancing quality and shortening the schedule.
Environmental Mitigation and Sensitivity
Highway & Transportation (New) Winner
I-84 Sandy River and Jordan Rd. Bridges (Bundle 210)
Troutdale, OR
Hamilton Construction Co.
Lead Engineer:
Doug Johnson, P.E., David Evans and Associates, Inc.
After Hamilton Construction won the bid to replace two I-84 bridges over the Sandy River, flood modeling programs revealed that a traditional work bridge approach would cause increased flood risk to upstream residents. The company worked to develop an innovative “Top Down” construction method using a gantry crane/beam launching system. The method eliminated the need for temporary work bridges and allowed construction to take place year-round, shaving five years off the project schedule. The team also committed to safety and environmental sensitivity. Hamilton developed the innovative “See It Say It Fix It” safety campaign early on in the project, which successfully empowered staff at to address safety concerns immediately. A fulltime onsite Hamilton Safety Manger worked closely with crews and subcontractors to conduct routine job hazard analysis, daily safety huddles, weekly “Toolbox Talks” and monthly safety committee meetings. Environmental concerns for the river required rigid debris containment structures under the bridges to be demolished, and construction of access trestles to keep equipment out of the river to protect the endangered fish species making their home in the Sandy River.
Environmental Mitigation and Sensitivity
Highway & Transportation (Renovation) Winner
Milton Madison Bridge Replacement Project
Madison, IN
The Walsh Group
Lead Architect:
Burgress & Nipple Inc.
Lead Engineer:
Buckland & Taylor
In their bridge replacement project, The Walsh Group replaced the Milton-Madison Bridge using the slide bridge technique. This lowered estimated project costs by $20 million, reduced bridge closures to just a few weeks from an original estimate of at least one year and mitigated overall environmental impact. This challenging design-build project required Walsh to employ innovative engineering and construction solutions. The team kept the existing bridge open to traffic while the piers were rehabilitated, constructing the new bridge superstructure alongside on temporary piers, and then sliding it into its final position atop the rehabilitated piers. This was the first bridge of its size for which the advanced sliding technique was implemented. The longer length and continuity of the four truss spans of the Milton-Madison Bridge required the Walsh team to adjust their procedure and scale their approach. The methods adopted by Walsh reduced community and economic disturbances virtually guaranteed with the bridge’s originally-budgeted closure duration.
For more information on the AGC/Alliant Build America Awards, go to www.agc.org/awards.