The 10th annual American Concrete Institute Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards showcased 18 innovative concrete projects from around the world. The TSX Broadway – Palace Theater of New York City was selected as the overall winner and also received first place in the Repair and Restoration Structures category. The awards program was established to celebrate the most visionary projects in the concrete industry, while offering a platform to acknowledge global advancements in concrete innovation, technology, and excellence. Entries for the 2025 ACI Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards are being accepted now through April 29, 2025.
OVERALL EXCELLENCE
TSX Broadway was created by shifting and reassembling portions of an existing structure—including the historic, street-level Palace Theater—and combining them with new elements to produce a revitalized entertainment, retail, and hotel complex at the center of Times Square in New York City. The project used high-performance concrete from Tec-Crete Transit-Mix Corp., including a 14,000-psi (96.5 MPa) mixture and extensive use of slag cement, to minimize environmental impact and enhance durability.
Sustainable practices were central to the redevelopment, including energy-efficient systems, high-performance curtain walls, and significant reuse of existing materials, contributing to a reduced carbon footprint and minimizing construction waste. The project’s concrete contractor was Sorbara Construction Corp. (superstructure).
HIGH-RISE STRUCTURES
The Kō‘ula mixed-use development in Honolulu, Hawaii, received first place in the High-Rise Structures (Over 15 Stories) category. The 41-story structure consists of post-tensioned concrete floor plates, reinforced concrete columns, and shear walls, with an innovative central core design, allowing for efficient modular construction and cost savings.
To meet Honolulu’s 400-ft. height limit, while providing generous ceiling heights within the typical residential units, a slab depth of only 7 inches (178 mm) was designed with post-tensioning for spans of up to 34 feet (10 m). The building, part of the LEED Platinum Ward Village, incorporates sustainable practices, including reduced material use and a concrete façade that lowers energy requirements, aiming for LEED Silver certification. The concrete contractor was Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, Inc. and the concrete supplier was HC&D LLC.
FLATWORK
The West Edge plaza, located at the intersection of Olympic and Bundy in Los Angeles, Calif., won first place in the Flatwork category. This 200,000-ft.2 office, 600 apartment, and 90,000-ft.2 retail development integrates meticulously crafted architectural concrete, including complex planter walls, decorative paving, and custom finishes.
The project required detailed planning and collaboration to address challenges, such as constructing over a garage structure and achieving consistent finishes across diverse concrete elements. Multiple concrete finishes and mixture designs added to the “artistic” design intent of using special seeded aggregates and cement colors in the alternating patterns. Trademark Concrete Systems, Inc.; was the project’s concrete contractor and Catalina Pacific Concrete was the concrete supplier.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Réseau Express Métropolitain rail network in Montréal secured second place in the Infrastructure category. The project required extensive durability planning to ensure a 100-year service life, using a range of concrete mixtures with high supplementary cementitious materials content to reduce heat release and carbon footprint.
Two categories of concrete, including seven mixtures and several variants intended for cast-in-place and precast elements, were designed through an extensive laboratory experimental program to meet normative durability requirements based on actual exposure conditions throughout the network route. Advanced design and construction techniques, coupled with close collaboration among engineers and continuous client communication, facilitated the successful realization of this major infrastructure project. The concrete supplier was Unibéton, Béton Provincial Ltée.