Singled out among entries from throughout North America by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute as precast projects of particular distinction, nine buildings, six bridges and three innovative applications were recognized in the 2003 PCI Design Awards Competition. The 18 winners represent a wide range of uses for precast concrete, including office buildings, a library, a state capitol, schools, housing and parking structures as well as bridges in a variety of lengths, both new and rehabilitated.

“We have seen an increasing variety of projects and innovative applications for precast, prestressed concrete as designers continue to redefine the boundaries of this versatile material,” says PCI President James Toscas. “As we prepare to celebrate our 50th anniversary next year, I can think of no better testimonial to the vitality of this industry than the ongoing investment of so much creative energy.”

Honoring projects that introduce innovative uses of precast applicable throughout the industry, the Harry H. Edwards award was presented to three structures demonstrating distinct applications of the material.

HARRY H. EDWARDS AWARDS

Ocean City-Longport Bridge Replacement Ocean City, New Jersey

Architect — Parsons Brinckerhoff-FG Inc., Princeton, N.J.

Precast supplier — Bayshore Concrete Corp., Cape Charles, Va.

(This project also won an award for Best Bridge with Spans Greater than 135 Feet.)

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Light Rail Transit Tunnel Minneapolis, Minnesota

Architect — HNTB Corp., Minneapolis, Minn.

Precast supplier — County Concrete Corp., Roberts, Wis.

Starz Encore Headquarters Englewood, Colorado

Architect — Barber Architecture, Denver, Colo.

Precast supplier — Rocky Mountain Prestress, Denver, Colo.

This project was named Best All-Precast Concrete Solution.

The nine buildings singled out to receive honors again cover a wide spectrum of uses. Winners include the following:

BEST OFFICE BUILDINGS

Brighton Landing Brighton, Massachusetts

Architect — ADD Inc., Cambridge, Mass.

Precast supplier — Bolduc, Sainte-Marie Beauce, Quebec, Canada

Merrill Lynch Hopewell Campus Pennington, New Jersey

Architect — TVS, Atlanta, Ga.

Precast suppliers — Universal Concrete Products Corp., Douglassville, Pa.; High Concrete Structures Inc., Denver, Pa.

BEST PUBLIC/INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS

Salt Lake City Public Library Salt Lake City, Utah

Architects — Moshe Safdie & Associates, Somerville, Mass.; VCBO Architecture, Salt Lake City, Utah (architect of record)

Precast supplier — Pretecsa S.A. de C.V, Mexico City, Mexico

Oklahoma State Capital Dome Project Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Architect — Frankfurt Short Bruza Associates, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Precast supplier — Arkansas Precast Corp., Jacksonville, Ark.

BEST SCHOOL

Highland Park High School Addition Highland Park, Illinois

Architect — Legat Architects, Waukegan, Ill.

Precast supplier — Lombard Architectural Precast Products Co., Alsip, Ill.

BEST MULTIFAMILY HOUSING

Trinity Place Boston, Massachusetts

Architect — CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc., Boston, Mass.

Precast supplier — Artex Systems in Concord, Ontario, Canada

BEST PARKING STRUCTURES

Saks Parking Garage Kansas City, Missouri

Architect — Gastinger Walker Harden Architects, Kansas City, Kan.

Precast supplier — Rinker Materials, Marshall, Mo.

Resurrection Medical Center Southeast Parking Structure Chicago, Illinois

Architect — Loebl Schlossman & Hackl, Chicago Precast supplier — Concrete Technology Inc., Springboro, Ohio

BEST SPORTS FACILITY

“Casa Club” Bosque Real, Huixquilucan, Mexico

Architect — Sordo Madaleno y Asociados S.C., Mexico City, Mexico Precast supplier — Pretecsa S.A. de C.V, Mexico City, Mexico

Entries were evaluated by three panels of judges according to project type. The Harry H. Edwards Jury comprised Chairman Tom Conroy, president, Oldcastle Precast Inc.; James Albertson, vice president of sales, Rocky Mountain Prestress; and, Greg Force, P.E., vice president and general manager, Tindall Corp.-Virginia division.

Serving on the Buildings Jury were Chairman Thompson Penney, FAIA, president, American Institute of Architects; John Czarnecki, Associate AIA, associate editor, Architectural Record magazine; Tom Holmes, president and general manager, PBM Concrete Inc.; and, Steve Wright, principal, Wright Architects.

The Bridge Jury comprised Chairman Jerry Potter, structural engineer, Federal Highway Administration; Greg Perfetti, state bridge design engineer, North Carolina Department of Transportation; and, H. Hubert Janssen, bridge consultant, CTE Engineers.

Among seven bridges recognized by the Bridge jury were the following projects (in addition to the aforementioned Ocean City-Longport Bridge in Ocean City, N.J., for Best Bridge with Spans Greater than 135 Feet):

BEST BRIDGE WITH SPANS LESS THAN 65 FEET

Coton Bridge Lansdowne, Virginia

Architect — Con/Span Bridge Systems, Dayton, Ohio Precast suppliers — Americast, Ashland, Va.; BridgeTek, Fredericksburg, Va.

BEST BRIDGE WITH SPANS BETWEEN 65 AND 135 FEET

Little Oak Creek Bridge Corson County, South Dakota

Architect — Interstate Engineering Inc., Mandan, N.D.

Precast supplier — South Dakota Concrete Products, Pierre, S.D.

BEST REHABILITATED BRIDGE

Jacques Cartier Bridge Montreal, Quebec

Architect — SNC-Lavalin Inc., Montreal Precast supplier — The Consortium SMDB, Montreal

BEST NON-HIGHWAY BRIDGES

AirTrain Light Rail System Queens, New York

Architect — STV, New York Precast supplier — Bayshore Concrete Products, Cape Charles, Va.

Colonial Williamsburg Bridge to the Past Williamsburg, Virginia

Architect — Carlton Abbott & Partners PC, Williamsburg, Va.

Precast supplier — Tindall Corp., Petersburg, Va.

BEST OWNER-DESIGNED BRIDGE

38th Street Bridge Tacoma, Washington

Architect/Engineer — Washington State Dept. of Transportation, Olympia, Wash.

Precast supplier — Concrete Technology Corp., Tacoma, Wash.