The Daily Reporter – WI Construction News & Bids Wisconsin's Construction Authority
The Daily Reporter hosted its annual Top Projects 2011 event Thursday at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
For the first time in its history, The Daily Reporter declared not one, but two Best in Show winners at its annual Top Projects event Thursday night in Milwaukee.
Marquette University Engineering Hall and UW-Madison Union South took top honors at the event, which celebrated the 30 best projects completed in Wisconsin in 2011.
The 30 Top Project of 2011 winners were selected based on challenges they overcame before and during construction, the benefit the projects offered to the communities they were being built in and any advancement they provided to the state’s construction industry.
The Daily Reporter’s panel of industry judges then selected the Best in Show from those 30 winning projects. The judging panel included:
• Jeffrey Beiriger, executive director, American Subcontractors Association of Wisconsin Inc.
• Ken Kraemer, executive director, Building Advantage
• Jayne Martinko, president, The American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin Inc.
• Robert Rayburn, executive vice president, National Electrical Contractors Association Inc. – Milwaukee chapter
• Matt Rinka, principal, Rinka Chung Architecture Inc.
• Steve Stone, president, Associated Builders & Contractors of Wisconsin Inc.
This year there was a tie at the top, resulting in the two winners. Marquette University Engineering Hall was lauded, in particular, for its design, which joins classrooms with lab space in the view of passersby. UW-Madison Union South was noted for integrating student ideas in a space for the campus and community at large.
Both project teams were presented with special awards at the conclusion of Thursday’s Top Projects of 2011 event at the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. More than 400 people attended the awards dinner and presentation, now in its 13th year.
— Caley Clinton
WATCH ALL THE TOP PROJECTS VIDEOS
After-school special: Alternative Learning Center for the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District
Transforming the former Allis Chalmers executive office building into an up-to-code educational center for the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District took a lot more than incorporating the school colors, although that definitely was part of it.
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Whey to go: Beaver Dam Wastewater Treatment Facility
Dealing with dairy factory excess could qualify as a classic Wisconsin problem.
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Joining the club: Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha
The new Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha is a working example of the value of teamwork.
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Building??a??work??of??art: Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin
Working on the expansion of the Chazen Museum of Art in the middle of the University of Wisconsin campus was something completely new for Madison-based J.H. Findorff & Son Inc.
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A shared success: The Cornerstone
It took two villages to raise The Cornerstone on Oakland Avenue.
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Another point of view: Empowerment Village – Lincoln
When neighbors learned about an affordable housing project along historic Lincoln Avenue, the biggest concern wasn’t necessarily the mentally ill and formerly homeless people who would be moving into their south side Milwaukee neighborhood.
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Fitchburg’s new chapter: Fitchburg Public Library
A history of Fitchburg’s first public library includes anonymous riches, a fervent green streak, agile approaches to budgeting and construction and a back story of more than two decades of public debate.
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Building a butter empire: Grassland Dairy Products Expansion
The owners of Grassland Dairy Products have a vision for their future, and it includes a whole lot of butter.
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Crossing that bridge: Highland Road Bridge over I-43
Timing is everything in most construction projects and that definitely was the case during the summer of 2011 as crews replaced the Highland Road Bridge over Interstate 43 in Mequon.
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A lesson in teamwork: Indian Trail High School & Academy
The crews working on the 420,000-square-foot Indian Trail High School & Academy project were given a crash course in teamwork as they tried getting the building ready in August.
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Watching the bottom line: Junior Achievement Kohl’s Education Center
The Junior Achievement Kohl’s Education Center is a lesson in economics in more ways than one.
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Library turns the page: Kilbourn Public Library
From roof to basement, the project team for the Kilbourn Public Library renovation and addition had plenty of challenges.
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Out in the open: Marquette University Engineering Hall
The development of a new hall for Marquette University’s College of Engineering offered a unique test of Newton’s laws of motion, velocity and pressure.
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Out with the old: Miller Park Scoreboard
To get a second look at that 10th inning, playoff clinching single by Milwaukee Brewer Nyjer Morgan, thousands of fans at Miller Park turned their eyes to the centerfield scoreboard.
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Neighborhood protest: Milwaukee Public Library – Villard Square Branch
The six silhouettes hold protest signs and stand before a large, open book in the main corridor of the Milwaukee Public Library – Villard Square Branch.
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Achieving a lofty goal: National Avenue Lofts
A combination of creativity and persistence turned a weed-choked former parking lot for trucks into the National Avenue Lofts housing complex in Milwaukee.
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Strength in numbers: St. Catherine’s Medical Center Campus Vertical Expansion
St. Catherine’s Medical Center’s three-story vertical expansion not only made the building taller, it made it stronger.
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Riding the financial wave: Saint John’s On the Lake
After navigating rough financial seas, the $50 million Saint John’s on the Lake expansion project not only survived, it’s thriving.
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An off-season encore: Summerfest South End Development – Phase I
Given their repeat construction performances at Milwaukee’s Summerfest grounds, a handful of architects and contractors are something like off-season roadies for the music festival’s home base.
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More than just a building: The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center
When a building is constructed for the community as a whole, it becomes imperative that it is a living, breathing part of the community. The Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Green Bay is an example of such a building.
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Tried and Truax: Truax Park Redevelopment
The challenges began for the Truax Park Redevelopment in Madison long before contractors walked onto the site.
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By popular demand: UW-Madison Union South
Designers expected student input for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Union South project, but they scarcely imagined getting ideas from 20,000 people.
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Centering the arts: UW-Parkside Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities
A four-year, $31 million construction project at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha has improved the school’s music, theatre and visual arts facilities for students and the community.
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Mission accomplished: YWCA Madison-Mifflin Street
When a leaking roof and outdated mechanical systems began to threaten the YWCA’s central mission — providing shelter and affordable housing to Madison’s disadvantaged population — the organization knew it was time for a major renovation.
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Dogs have their day: Wisconsin Humane Society – Ozaukee Campus
The full-time tenants aren’t talking, but architect Tim Hansmann really didn’t expect much feedback from them.
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Along for the ride: Zippin’ Pippin’ Roller Coaster
Miron Construction crews faced a steep learning curve when the company took on construction of a wooden roller coaster in Green Bay.
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GREEN PROJECTS
Second life: Potawatomi Administration Building demo
When the Forest County Potawatomi Community needed to take down one of the buildings on its administrative campus, it opted against the easy route.
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Little wasted: UW-Madison Biochemistry Expansion
J.H. Findorff & Son blew way past standard construction waste recycling rates on the University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemistry complex and, along the way, helped the state set new benchmarks.
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Building for the future: UW-Oshkosh Sage Hall
After 40 years of waiting, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh got a new academic building this past year with the completion of Sage Hall.
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Waste not, want not: UW-Stevens Point Waste Education Center
The new Waste Education Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point began its teachings long before it was built.
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