Six Birmingham architecture firms receive awards

Each year, the Birmingham Chapter of the American Institute of Architects holds its Design Awards to recognize excellence in architectural design.

This year, 42 projects in four categories were submitted and juried in San Francisco, Cal.

The jury consisted of five qualified peers, who reviewed, contemplated and discussed each entry.

The eight winning entries were announced June 11 during the AIA Birmingham Design Awards Gala at the Southern Museum of Flight.

All entries will be on display during the 2009 Green Building Conference & Expo at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

The Honor Award is the highest level of recognition that AIA Birmingham bestows to firms for projects displaying exemplary design exceeding the criteria set forth by the jury.

The Award of Merit is presented to a project that meets the jury’s requirements for design excellence.

Award recognition is based on the success with which the project has met jury criteria.

The winners include:

Commercial Category: Merit Award – Stewart Perry Corporate Headquarters. Architect – HKW Associates.

Institutional Category: Merit Award – McKenzie Court Community Center. Architect – Cohen Carnaggio Reynolds.

Merit Award – Our Savior Lutheran Church. Architect – Krumdieck A+I Design.

Merit Award – Hilltop Montessori School. Architect – HKW Associates.

Honor Award – Sunshine Farms Chapel. Architect – Krumdieck A+I Design.

Residential Category: Honor Award - Infill Houses at Fountain Heights Neighborhood. Architect – Adams Design Associates.

Renovation/Adaptive Reuse Category: Merit Award – Greek Orthodox Church Plaza. Architect – Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio.

Merit Award – Studio 212. Architect – bDot Architecture.

WestWind Technologies earns multiple safety awards

WestWind Technologies of Huntsville, Ala., recently received six awards given by the National Safety Council.

The series of recognitions adds to years of safety awards and includes acknowledgement for the company’s continued record in safety, outstanding accomplishments in accident prevention and no loss of time injuries or illnesses.

The awards include:

•Occupational Excellence Achievement Award - Service in Accident Prevention
•Million Work Hours Award - Operating 1 Million Hours Without Incident
•Perfect Record Award - No Accidents, Injuries or Illnesses
•Milestone Award - Operating Two Years Incident-Free
•Certificate of Merit - Recognizing Department Contributions in Accomplishing the Overall Goal
•Lift Truck Operator Award - 480-Plus Consecutive Hours of Operation Without Incident

WestWind Technologies is a provider of aviation integration, engineering, manufacturing and logistics services with 200,000-plus sq ft of operational facilities.

An additional 65,000 sq ft of hangar space will be completed in August and will house the Huntsville Aircraft Modification and Integration Center at the Huntsville International Airport.

Golden & Associates receives Contractor of the Year Award

At the ASA awards banquet held recently at The Club in Birmingham, Ala., Golden & Associates Construction LLC received the Contractor of the Year Award (Category II) for the second year in a row from ASA of Alabama, and the fourth time in the company’s 12-year history.

The Auburn Research Park, Building One, at Auburn University won an ABC Eagle Award in the Commercial $5 to $10 million category.

Golden & Associates’ H.M. “Bubba” Autry also received the Superintendent of the Year Award.

Autry has more than 45 years of construction experience and joined Golden & Associates in 2005.

Golden & Associates also received the Contractor of the Year Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors Alabama Chapter in 2008 and 2007.

Golden & Associates provides general contracting and construction management services to clients throughout the southeast.

Some of Golden’s current projects include Cityville Block 121, Tarrant Middle/High School, YWCA Interfaith House and the recently completed Hyatt Place Hotel in downtown Birmingham.

B.L. Harbert International wins award for Auburn Research Park, Building One

B.L. Harbert International LLC of Birmingham, Ala., has won an Associated Builders and Contractors’ National Excellence in Construction Award.

The Auburn Research Park, Building One project won the first place, Eagle Award, in the Commercial, $5 million to $10 million category.

The 3-story, 44,000-sq-ft facility, located on Auburn University’s campus, is intended for small to large technology companies wishing to affiliate with and be located on the campus of a major research university.

The building was designed to achieve LEED Certification.

Spider provided a powered access solution and training for the installation of steel girder beams at the ThyssenKrupp USA steel processing plant in Calvert, Ala.

B.L. Harbert’s experience in green building allowed the team to maximize the design’s potential, elevating the facility’s status to qualify for LEED Gold Certification.

B.L. Harbert worked to create a safe working environment for everyone on site and logged more than 40,000 man-hours without a lost time accident.

B.L. Harbert executives accepted the award at the ABC Excellence in Construction Presentation Ceremony on June 24 in Washington, D.C. Design consultants for the project were Gresham Smith and Partners, Lane Bishop York Delahay Inc., Jackson Renfro & Associates Inc. and Edmonds Engineering Inc.

Industrial contractor saves time, money in Calvert, Ala.

Spider, a division of SafeWorks, provided a powered access solution and training for the installation of steel girder beams on a new structure at the ThyssenKrupp USA steel processing plant in Calvert, Ala., saving the contractor more than $50,000 and 10 days of set up and tear down time.

LPR Construction required efficient installation, equipment relocation and dismantling on ThyssenKrupp’s 175-ft-wide, 234-ft-tall hot dip galvanizing line structure to minimize the impact of the plant’s production.

Spider provides six 40-ft platforms powered by electric traction motors and rigged with truss outriggers to enable the contractor to work two columns simultaneously.

After Spider’s swift mobilization, the contractor was able to get to work the same day. The truss outriggers then allowed for quick and easy relocation of the rigging, enabling the workers to move from one drop to the next in just 30 minutes.

Twenty-five LPR employees completed Spider’s Basic User Training and mastered the use of Spider’s rigging checklist to ensure safe ongoing use of the equipment.

Robins & Morton completes Marshall County Hospital

Robins & Morton of Birmingham, Ala., recently completed construction of the new Marshall County Hospital in Benton, Ky.

The new, $31 million, 65,000-sq-ft critical access hospital offers the community 25 private patient rooms, round-the-clock ambulance and emergency services, a One-Stop Clinic, home health services, medical offices, a full-service cafeteria, several courtyard garden areas and other new amenities.

In addition, The Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatics Center, constructed by Robins & Morton, recently won a commercial real estate award from the Birmingham Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) in the $15 million - $25 million category.

Upon completion in July, the 78,200-sq-ft facility will house an adult activities center, swimming pool, splash park, two racquetball courts, gymnasium, weight room, group fitness room, cardio room, meeting rooms, multimedia room, and walking track — all indoors.

Outside, the center will have five regulation-size soccer fields, a maintenance building, two soccer buildings, a walking track and an amphitheater stretching across 80 acres.