HONOR AWARDS

Category B

Building/Technology Systems

HONOR AWARD - CATEGORY WINNER

Firm: Olsson

Project: Chadron State College Math and Science Center for Innovative Learning

Client: Chadron State College / Nebraska State College System

Originally built in the 1960s, the Math and Science Building at Chadron State College (CSC) had adequately served its purpose as a learning facility. However, the time had come for major upgrades to recreate a space that would foster a new generation of collaboration, learning, and community. With this renovation, CSC wanted to install ultramodern learning and research while supporting accessibility and affordability for students. They chose the Olsson / BVH team to renovate and add to the existing building. Olsson provided comprehensive engineering, design, and construction services to help turn the dream of CSC students and faculty into a reality. CSC broke ground on this $28 million renovation and addition in September of 2020, and construction was complete in February of 2022. This renovation meets modern laboratory and teaching standards and replaces outdated fixtures and furnishings. It also replaced and updated existing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems with energy efficient technologies. These upgrades prompted CSC to rename the building the Math Science Center of Innovative Learning to better correspond with the renovations. Olsson is proud of our involvement in the design of new lab spaces, classrooms, offices, and breakout rooms that facilitate innovative, student-focused learning.

Honor Award

Firm: Alvine Engineering

Project: Papillion La Vista Community Schools

Ashbury Elementary

Client: BCDM Architects

Addressing a critical need for the quickly expanding community, Ashbury Elementary is the latest addition to Papillion La Vista Community Schools. Ashbury Elementary sits on what was once an empty plot of undeveloped land.

Its construction brought everything from roads to power and water lines to the area, paving the way for future neighborhoods. Ashbury Elementary further improves upon the building design standards set by Papillion La Vista Community Schools, many of which were focused on increasing energy efficiency. Using geothermal energy in combination with insulated concrete for exterior walls is one of the biggest improvements, setting the standard for future Papillion La Vista Community Schools (PLVCS) facilities. Other mechanical improvements include using the lighting occupancy sensors to automate outdoor airflow and temperature changes in certain spaces, adjusting to save energy when no one is using a particular area. Lighting improvements include all LED lighting throughout the building and certain areas where lighting automatically dims after a set period of inactivity, accommodating energy savings and egress requirements. The design team’s collaboration, reinforced by 37 years of working on PLVCS projects together, has succeeded in achieving a high level of efficiency throughout the design process and made Ashbury Elementary PLVCS’s most advanced facility yet.

CATEGORY C Structural Systems

HONOR AWARD - CATEGORY WINNER

Firm: HDR

Project: Kiewit Headquarters

Client: Kiewit Corporation | Noddle Companies

Headquartered in Omaha since 1884, Kiewit Corporation is one of the largest contractors in the world. When the company decided to build a new headquarters, they decided on a north downtown location adjacent to their recently completed training center, Kiewit University, in part to encourage neighborhood redevelopment and reaffirm the company’s commitment to Omaha and Nebraska.

The seven-story 180,000-square-foot building and connected parking structure houses 650 employees in a progressive workplace environment that fosters collaboration and interaction to support Kiewit’s global operations. In harmony with the surrounding city buildings, the ground floor is clad in brick, enlivening the street. The glass-clad office tower above features an enclosed, elevated walkway connecting to the training center. The building configuration incorporates covered pedestrian plazas and elevated exterior patios for gathering.

The brick cladding evokes images of the turn-of-thecentury warehouses that once filled downtown Omaha. Inside the building, the owner wanted a “loft” aesthetic to help recruit and retain younger employees. The steel framing remains exposed throughout most of the building as part of the “loft” look. Because of this, the team made significant efforts to provide a clean layout and detailing of the structural steel frame.

In the office tower, the owner wanted as open a floor plan as possible. By shifting the core elements to the building’s north side, the team provided a 60-foot-wide, 250-footlong, uninterrupted bay on the south side of the building, allowing for maximum flexibility in laying out the office space.

CATEGORY F Water, Waste Water

HONOR AWARD - CATEGORY WINNER

Firm: HDR

Project: North Wellfield Flood Restoration and Hazard Mitigation

Client: City of Lincoln

The City of Lincoln has wellfield facilities located in and along the heart of the Platte River near Ashland, Nebraska. The wellfields provide raw water that is treated and conveyed to Lincoln for the City’s water supply. The wellfields were severely impacted by the March 2019 flooding. A breach in an upstream levee allowed flood waters to rush through the City of Lincoln’s wellfields. This project included restoration of the North and South Wellfields. In the South Wellfield, the water flowing through the wellfield deposited piles of sand on and around wells and access roads. In the North Wellfield, the flood waters scoured the sandy soil and caused significant erosion, which led to exposed and washed-out pipelines, deposition of mud and debris in the wellfield facilities, eroded creekbanks, complete destruction of one vertical well, and power outages and communication outages that prevented use of three other vertical wells. The damaged facilities and wells reduced the City of Lincoln’s raw water supply capacity by 8 MGD. HDR provided the city with design and construction of facilities to restore their North and South Wellfields to their previous capacity. HDR also delivered permanent mitigation measures to shield the wellfield from future events in order to continue providing Lincoln customers a safe and reliable drinking water supply.

Category G

Water Resources

HONOR AWARD - CATEGORY WINNER

Firm: HDR

Project: Columbus Recharge Project

Client: Lower Loup Natural Resources District