The latest news from around the country: Offices, Jobsites, Awards and Events

PHOENIX, AZ

Judged on criteria that included workplace culture, leadership excellence, corporate and social responsibility, and customer opinion, DPR’s Phoenix office was recently named one of Arizona’s Most Admired Companies. Rolled out for the first time in 2010, the award, presented by Arizona Business Magazine and BestCompaniesAZ, recognized 43 of the most prestigious companies in the state.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Surrounded by more than 300 people at an event held July 28 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, DPR’s Christopher Gorthy accepted the Member Firm of the Year award from the National Capital Region Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC-NCR). DPR was honored for its commitment to environmental innovation, internal green policies, companywide tracking of its carbon footprint, sustainability training for subcontractors, and creation of the greenBook, which, according to the USGBC-NCR, is “revolutionizing” the construction industry.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL

Located in the EcoPlex, one of Palm Beach County’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Gold-certified office buildings, DPR’s West Palm Beach office was recently certified LEED-CI Gold. Green features used in the office include low-VOC paint on demountable partitions made with high recycled content, cabinetry and casework with no urea formaldehyde, office furniture featuring pre- and post-consumer recycled content, and carpet tile and acoustical ceiling tile with a high percentage of recycled content, among others. Additionally, more than 50 percent of the office’s staff is LEED Accredited.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

On Oct. 6, the Associated General Contractors of Metro DC presented DPR with two honors at its 10th Annual Washington Contractor Awards ceremony, held at the Smithsonian’s historic Lincoln Theatre. In its Corporate Sustainability Awards category, DPR was named Best Sustainable Company of 2010. Additionally, in recognition of its work on the University of Virginia Hand & Spine Center Renovation, DPR received the Best Management Practices Award in the Renovation/Restoration/Contractors $150 million-plus category. Completed in an operational building, this project was comprised of a 22,000-sq.-ft. fit-up of clinical space and involved the structural upgrade of the floor system to support X-ray and fluoroscopy equipment.

AUSTIN, TX

The new Scott & White Children’s Hospital at the King’s Daughters Hospital was the recipient of $30,000 raised through DPR Austin’s 10th annual “Building Great Things Golf Tournament.” Participants on the sold-out course included such DPR project partners as Schmidt Electric, Walker Engineering and Alterman Electric.

OROVILLE, CA

Butte College is jumping to the head of the class as the first college in the nation to become grid positive. In a joint venture with Chico Electric, DPR is completing its Phase III solar project, which will add approximately 15,000 solar photovoltaic panels, or 2.7 MW DC, to its current 10,000 solar panels, ultimately making Butte the largest solar-producing college in the world. When completed, in May 2011, the college will generate more than 6.381 million kW hours per year—enough electricity to power 9,200 average-sized homes, or the equivalent of removing 6,000 passenger cars from the roadways. The new solar panels will be placed atop rooftops and will create covered parking areas and walkways, in addition to being mounted on the ground.

SAN DIEGO, CA

Sponsored by several utility companies and awarded in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects, California Council, the Savings by Design Energy Efficiency Integration Awards program recognizes professionals who achieve design excellence in their projects while exceeding minimum energy performance codes. Built with a goal of net zero energy consumption, DPR’s 24,000-sq.-ft. multi-tenant office building remodel in San Diego was honored with the 2010 Award of Merit for Interior Renovation. The project has received other accolades, including being named the year’s best Green Building in Southern California as part of California Construction magazine’s “Best of 2010” awards program and an Orchid award for exemplary sustainable design from the San Diego Architectural Foundation.

PHOENIX, AZ

DPR’S Phoenix office continues to build on its longstanding partnership with Sunshine Acres Children’s Home. On July 22, participating children were treated to a day at Chase Field to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks. The outing was just the latest contribution DPR has made to the organization, which provides support for children from families facing homelessness, incarceration, addictions and health challenges.

NATIONAL

With a proven commitment to sustainability and metrics, DPR has enrolled all of its offices—17 nationwide—in the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program. “Having all of these properties on Energy Star is a great way to track our own energy use, compare our properties, make us smarter about LEED for Existing Buildings and energy retrofits, and assist our clients with Energy Star and post-occupancy energy tracking,” said DPR’s Whitney Dorn.

SAN DIEGO, CA

DPR’s Ross Brown was named a 2010 Project Manager of the Year by the San Diego Chapter of the American Subcontractors Association (ASA). In giving the award, the ASA recognized Brown for his integrity, emphasis on safety at the jobsite, and superior communication skills.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Building on relationships made in the field, DPR formed three teams to compete in the 27th Annual Leap Sandcastle Competition, held Oct. 2 at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Facing stiff competition from the DPR/University of California, San Francisco, Team and the DPR/Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley Team, the DPR/Gensler/Ulloa Elementary Team nabbed the Best Topography title in this year’s “Sand Francisco”-themed contest. The winning team recreated such area icons as the Ferry Building, Coit Tower sitting on Telegraph Hill, the Transamerica Pyramid, Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge. With proceeds from sponsors and team fundraising, Leap serves more than 6,500 students in over 25 schools across the Bay Area with hands-on learning experiences in art and architecture.

JUPITER, FL

A June 22 groundbreaking ceremony for the Max Planck Florida Institute gave a boost to Florida’s growing bioscience cluster. Located on six acres at Florida Atlantic University’s John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter, FL, the three-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. biomedical research facility will feature nearly 58,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space when completed in May 2012. DPR began construction on the project, which is targeting LEED-NC certification, in mid-August.

LOS ANGELES, CA

For this year’s Canstruction LA design/build contest, DPR partnered with Studio SA Architects to construct a replica of Randy’s Donuts, an iconic novelty building that sits in Inglewood, CA. Using elements of the collaborative virtual building techniques DPR brings to its most technically demanding projects, the team, led by Erin Hughes, mapped out a plan to build the landmark donut shop. DPR’s Dustin Rothwell created a 3D model of the entire project can-by-can—more than 4,500 in total—allowing the team to cut templates and achieve nearly 100 percent accuracy in its purchase of cans. The event ended Nov. 15, at which time all the cans were donated to the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank.

ATLANTA, GA

On Nov. 4, DPR Atlanta was honored with the John Swain Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta at a ceremony attended by 800 of the organization’s leaders and supporters. DPR’s ongoing support of the Boys and Girls Club of Brookhaven Power Hour Homework Program earned it the award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer service. In addition to DPR Foundation grants and annual golf tournament proceeds, DPR staff volunteers throughout the year at the Brookhaven Club.

PHOENIX, AZ

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Councilman Michael Johnson and Dr. Stuart Flynn (above), dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, were on hand Oct. 29 to commemorate the start of construction on the Health Sciences Education Building at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

DPR is building the $129 million building in a joint venture with Sundt Construction, Inc. The new six-story, 264,000-sq.-ft. facility will allow for the expansion of the medical education facilities to accommodate a class size of up to 120 students per year and is targeting LEED-NC Silver certification. Construction is expected to wrap up in August 2012.