SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The National Association of Women Business Owners’ Orange County chapter recognized DPR’s Melissa King at its annual Remarkable Women Awards Gala in October. Girls Inc., a DPR Foundation-supported organization, nominated King for the honor. The organization cited King’s increasing personal involvement, as well as DPR’s ongoing commitment of funds, volunteers and industry relationships that continue to make an even greater impact.

“Melissa is ensuring that 5,000 girls in our community become strong, smart and bold,” said Orleda Azevedo, Director of Volunteer Services for Girls Inc. “Melissa is a true role model not only for girls but for our staff and volunteers as well.”

DUARTE, CA

Hardhats for a Cure—the 27-member DPR team—joined the Walk for Hope at the City of Hope Medical Center with the ultimate goal of helping put an end to women’s cancer. The team included DPR employees and family members. They walked, ran or sprinted for 3.2 miles to raise donations to support women’s cancer research, treatment and educational programs at City of Hope.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA

The DPR–WGI joint venture recently broke ground on the NEXCOM Headquarters Consolidation and Data Center Renovation project for the U.S. Navy. The ceremony drew large attendance and included keynote speakers, including Rear Admiral Robert J. Bianchi and Congressman Scott Rigell. The project represents the fifth task order project award since September of 2013. This design-bid-build, 35,170-sq.-ft., three-story addition includes:

• Demolition and interior renovations to portions of the existing facility;
• Removal of existing office buildings;
• Relocation of, and upgrades to, the existing data center; and
• Conversion of remaining area for administrative use.

SAN DIEGO, CA

At the 2014 Luau and Legends Surfing Invitational, DPR joined 25 legends of the surfing world and an enthusiastic crowd in a contest geared to raise money for cancer research. For this event at Scripps Pier in La Jolla, DPR sponsored two surfing teams, filling the eight spots with San Diego office employees. In total, more than 20 DPR employees devoted more than over 1,060 combined volunteer hours, including DPR’s Alex Panici and Jay Leopold who served as 2014 event chairs. The event also included a specially prepared Luau feast, entertainment from the band Switchfoot, and silent auctions.

BOCA RATON, FL

The team at Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital celebrated the topping out of the first comprehensive women’s center of its kind in the Southeast. More than 100 people, including hospital staff and members of the building team from HKS, InDesign and DPR gathered to commemorate the milestone that included placing the final steel beam. With an anticipated completion in summer 2015, the new two-story, 45,800-sq.-ft. facility will include space for imaging, living well education, therapy and wellness, as well as preventive cardiology, pelvic health and diagnostic breast care.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Engineering News-Record (ENR) California recognized DPR’s new net-zero energy (NZE) designed San Francisco office renovation as the 2014 Best Project of the Year in Northern California and the Best Green Project in Northern California. Inspired by like-minded clients who share a commitment to the environment, community and employees, the San Francisco office is on track to be the first NZE office in the city of San Francisco and the third DPR office to achieve NZE status. NZE is a building with zero net energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of energy created. Serving as a living laboratory to test the newest and most intelligent energy efficient products on the market, the office is pioneering the use of the LEED Dynamic Plaque™ powered by Honeywell building systems. DPR’s office and the U.S. Green Building Council’s headquarters in Washington, DC, are the first two to use the building performance monitoring and scoring platform. To learn more about the office and the LEED Dynamic Plaque, click here.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

eBay Inc.’s Salt Lake City Data Center tied for first place in the Best Manufacturing Project category of ENR’s Mountain States 2014 Best Projects. The data center features a revolutionary power design that abandons the use of traditional diesel generators and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units in favor of 30 Bloom Energy Servers™ (fuel cells) that convert natural gas into electricity through a chemical reaction. According to eBay Inc.’s Dean Nelson, the new design is not only more sustainable and efficient, but also more reliable. The new data center also features advances in modularity, allowing for a high density of servers.

AUSTIN, TX

More than 250 guests helped DPR celebrate two decades of building great things in the Lone Star State at a special celebration themed, “A Night in Austin.” The October affair featured live music in the Moontower Lounge, wine provided by Hiatus Cellars, tasty treats from local food trucks, and arcade games. The event also commemorated DPR’s climb to the No. 1 spot on the Austin Business Journal’s “Top Commercial Construction Firm” 2014 list, from the No. 2 rank in 2013.

PHOENIX, AZ

DPR’s Phoenix office participated in the ASHE National Health Care Facilities and Engineering Week. The annual program recognizes healthcare facility staff for all their efforts to optimize the healthcare physical environment for patients. For over a decade, the local office has participated in this program. This year, the program honored Scottsdale Healthcare’s Shea and Osborn Campuses and its staff for working with the DPR building team to build safely.

FLORIDA

Recognition of DPR as a great place to work continues with two recent awards in Florida. DPR, with offices in Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach, ranked ninth on Florida Trend magazine’s “Florida’s Best Company to Work For” list in the “Best Large Companies” category. The Orlando Business Journal also ranked DPR’s local office as fifth on the “Best Places to Work” list in the “Mid-size Companies by Local Employees” category.

WASHINGTON, DC

DPR’s Mid-Atlantic region received three awards from the Associated General Contractors of Metro Washington. Awards include the Best New Construction Project award for Kaiser Permanente Largo Medical Center, the Best Corporate Sustainability Program and Corporate Safety award. DPR promotes and nurtures an Injury-Free Environment, with the goal of achieving zero incidents on every project.

SACRAMENTO, CA

The Alex G. Spanos Heart and Vascular Center received recognition as the Best Real Estate Project of the Year by the Sacramento Business Journal. The 121,130-sq.-ft., four-story facility will enhance Mercy General’s cardiac and heart program. It features a cardiac surgery and catheterization center, cardiopulmonary conditioning center, chapel, and healing garden.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Structural Engineers Association of Northern California recognized two DPR healthcare projects with 2014 awards. The Sutter Health Eden Medical project—a ground-up, 230,000-sq.-ft. acute care hospital—won the Award of Excellence. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation Sunnyvale Center—a three-level, world-class medical center—won the Award of Merit.

REDWOOD CITY, CA

What are the keys to success for women in construction? DPR’s Cari Williams participated on a panel—hosted by Constructech magazine—that explored that question. Kicking off Construction Day, a one-day conference, the panel also discussed how to encourage more women to get involved in technology initiatives in the industry.

PHOENIX, AZ

DPR built and fully-commissioned CyrusOne’s 120,000-sq.-ft. data center (plus 30,000 sq. ft. of white space) in just 107 days. “Our design and construction teams continue to redefine the delivery cycle for enterprise-class data centers, in terms of speed to market, cost, operational efficiency, and exceeding our customers’ timing expectations.” - Gary Wojtaszek, president and chief executive, CyrusOne, via Datacenter Dynamics