Algonquin College, Calgary West LRT win top prize for design-build at CDBI awards

The Algonquin College Student Commons and the Calgary West LRT are the winners of the Canadian Design-Build Institute’s (CDBI) Award of Excellence program for 2013.

The awards recognize outstanding Canadian projects that promote the use of the design-build delivery model. The winners were announced at CDBI’s National Design-Build Conference from Oct. 16 to 18 in Saskatoon, Sask.

The Algonquin College Student Commons project in Ottawa, Ont. won in the buildings category. The LEED gold facility consists of more than 127,000 sq. ft. of new construction, including a common area for students, a 700-seat auditorium, three levels of student services, a food court, a computer store and an atrium. The project also included more than 15,000 sq. ft of existing retail renovations.

PCL Constructors Canada Inc. (design-builder) and IBI Group/Teeple Architects (consultants) delivered the $42-million project on schedule and under budget.

The Calgary West LRT project also met all its budget goals, and finished first place in the infrastructure category.

The transportation infrastructure project, the largest undertaken by the City of Calgary, consisted of eight kilometres of double-track, six passenger stations, nine traction power substations, two park and ride facilities, a new road interchange, a transit-oriented operations building and five signalized level crossings. It also included integrating rail, bus routes, bike paths, pedestrian bridges and regional pathways.

SNC-Lavalin Constructors Pacific was the design-builder, Graham Infrastructure, Cana Construction, Enmax Power Services, MMM Group, Read Jones Christoffersen, Gibbs Gage Architects, Wiebe Forest Engineering and EBA Engineering were joint venture partners and design consultants.

Neil McFarlane, CDBI chairman, said both projects are great examples of how the design-build model is an effective and efficient way to deliver projects on time and on budget.

“Through utilizing a collaborative and team-oriented approach, projects can meet the expectations of clients, builders, designers and consultants. The result is more efficiency and more clarity from all parties throughout the entire construction cycle,” he said. 

For more information about the awards visit www.cdbi.org.