In Nashville, Tenn., during the joint conference between the Metal Building Contractors & Erectors Association (MBCEA) and the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) on May 8, 2023, the MBCEA presented the Building of the Year Awards and the Oil Can award.
Keith Wentworth is recognized for contributions to the association and 9 projects take home awards
With nearly 500 attendees, the conference showcased the dynamism of the metal building industry. That excitement extended to the awards programs. Keith Wentworth, Dutton & Garfield, Hampstead, N.H., is the current president of the Metal Building Institute and past president of MBCEA. His longtime involvement and devotion to the MBCEA earned him the Robert and Beverly Ketenbrink Service Award, which is commonly call the “Oil Can” award.
The Building of the Year entries are judged by an outside panel of judges based on the following criteria:
- Aesthetics
- Unusual or interesting features
- Quality
- Complexity
- Green building elements
The project of the year was presented to Lemartec Corp., Miami, for its work on the Terminal F roof retrofit at the Port of Miami. It’s the first time a project in the renovation and reroof category has been selected as the project of the year.
Other members earned wins in the Building of the Year awards including APX Construction Group, Mankato, Minn.; Crossland Construction, Springfield, Mo.; Span Construction & Engineering, Madera, Calif.; Thomas Phoenix International, Eastampton, N.J.; Design Systems Builders LLC, Nashville, Tenn.; Bahnmiller Construction Inc., Everett, Wash.; and Scott Steel Erectors, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Three judges served on the panel and selected winners from more than 30 entries. They were Ronald Albert, AIA, RHA Architects, Merrimac, Mass.; Jerry Gorski, PE, Gorski Engineering, Collegeville, Pa.; and Matthew B. Jarmel, AIA, MBA, Jarmel Kizel Architects and Engineers Inc., Livingston, N.J. To be eligible, a building must have been completed in 2020. For more information on MBCEA’s Building of the Year winners, visit www.mbcea.org/awards-and-recognition.
2023 Building of the Year
Lemartec was the prime construction manager for the Port of Miami Terminal F Facility. The project included an exterior and interior retrofit, as well as a renovation of the existing structures. Re-roofing using Memphis, Tenn.-based Varco Pruden’s slope build-up system provided the new height of the existing structure to match the new building, so they formed one large structure. The standing seam roof covers parallel ridges, and the east side roof transition over the eave and clads the wall. The project is seeking LEED Silver certification. Lemartec Corp., Miami, provided design-build services that included general demolition, new steel structures, exterior metal panels, custom gutter systems and custom trims, glazing, mechanical, electrical, elevators/escalators, plumbing and fixtures, fire protection, interior finishes and furnishings.
Photo: Aerial Experts
Awards of Excellence
Specialty Category
Scott Steel Erectors, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, designed, supplied and installed the concrete and steel for the Cote Gold Mine mill building in Gogama, Ontario. The 140,000-square-foot building has a soaring eave height of 125 feet and was supplied by Steelway Building Systems, Hamilton, Ontario. Clad in insulated metal panels from Metl-Span, Lewisville, Texas, the building also includes two overhead cranes. One is a 100-ton crane and the other 30 ton.
Manufacturing and Warehouse Category
The long-time partnership between Span Construction & Engineering, Madera, Calif., and Butler Manufacturing, Kansas City, Mo., has resulted in another large project, the Home Depot Warehouse in Houston. Completed in May 2022, the 116,850-square-foot building includes an upper garden center, lumber and main entry canopies, and a tool rental corral. This building was a prototype for a new Home Depot design, and as a prototype, the construction team faced unforeseen obstacles. The group handled the difficulties and delivered the building on time and under budget.
Photo: Jami Smith
Educational and Recreation Category
The Springfield Sports Complex, Springfield, Mo., is a 94,000-square-foot building with a 38-foot eave height. Construction began in May 2021 and was completed in November 2022 as crews battled through extensive weather issues. Slowing construction was the site itself, which featured a large amount of rock, leading to redesigns and relocations. The complex includes 12 outdoor sports fields, four of which are turf allowing all-weather play. The interior is home to four basketball courts that can be converted to eight volleyball courts, along with two indoor soccer fields. There are also indoor and outdoor concessions, and office and meeting spaces available.
Photo: Drew Kimble
Reroof and Renovation Category
Driven by increased demand for its products because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Puritan Medical Products, Portland, Tenn., needed to increase production of medical swabs. The plant capacity could deliver 15-20 million swabs per month. After the renovation, which included 35,000 square feet of insulated metal panels, 41,800 square feet of metal wall panels, a 195,500-square-foot standing seam roof system, and 1,300 tons of mezzanine steel, the plant could produce 200 million swabs per month.
Photo: Jim Blackstock
Awards of Merit
Specialty Category
For more than 40 years, King County, Wash., has extracted biosolids during its wastewater treatment and used it as an alternative to fertilizer. Called Loop, the material is transported to different sites in Eastern Washington. The King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) needed a new maintenance and staging facility to maintain Loop vehicles. The 12,000-square-foot building includes three truck bays, is seeking LEED Silver certification, and was designed with feedback from the community.
Photo: Leif Andersen
Manufacturing and Warehouse Category
Finished in May 2022, this building has already experienced the forces of two hurricanes and survived with no significant damage. The shell of the 157,522-square-foot building was constructed in 75 days, and features 34-foot eave heights and a Kansas City, Mo.-based Butler Manufacturing MR-24 roof system with 8-inch batt insulation. The wall system is metal Mega-Rib and U-Panels from McElroy Metal, Bossier City, La.
Photo: Jami Smith
Educational and Recreation Category
Pickleball is a fast-rising sport, and in Mankato, Minn., they’re meeting that demand with a 32,000-square-foot metal building system from Metallic Building Systems, Houston. APX Construction Group, Mankota, was the general contractor and building dealer, while erection services were provided by Midwest Steel Erectors, Mankato. The building includes eight tournament-grade pickleball courts, locker rooms, a pro shop, and fitness room on the main level. The 5,000-square-foot mezzanine provides a viewing area, snack bar, private event room and floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. Custom cedar and masonry finishes were incorporated throughout the building, and integrating those elements with sections of the metal building components was a challenge.
Photo: Michele Isebrand
