Dive Brief:
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The American Institute of Architects has recognized five design-build teams as recipients of the 2016 TAP/CCA Innovation Award honoring technologies that boost project deliverables and integrate data analytics into building lifecycle management.
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Award citations were presented to the following teams: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Mortenson with CannonDesign, and Studio Talo. Payette and Cuningham Group Architecture received honorable mentions.
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Projects included sustainable smart cities, the construction of Epic System’s Deep Space Auditorium, hospital virtual design and construction, virtual reality immersive review, and enhanced window glazing for optimizing thermal performance.
Dive Insight:
Public voting is open online through Nov. 18 to determine an overall people’s choice winner for the firms already selected as award recipients by the Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) and Construction Contract Administration (CCA) knowledge communities at the AIA.
Virtual reality and immersive review scored big in the 2016 program's judging. Submissions from each of Studio Talo and Mortenson Construction/CannonDesign used VR as a review and collaboration tool. Mortensen is significantly lowering change-order and device relocation costs at its hospital projects by using VR as a collaborative design and review tool, Construction Dive reported earlier this month. In its project recognized by the TAP/CCA judges, the company worked with CannonDesign to developed a single-model review approach leveraging VR to decrease model iterations.
Studio Talo Architecture is putting the man back in the machine. The company's award-winning VR video renderings not only showcased the construction process but also included avatars walking end-users through the virtual environment — in this case, a new headquarters for a nonprofit youth center in Evanston, IL — and explaining the benefits of the construction and design.
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designed the Astana Expo City, which is currently under construction in Kazakhstan. It incorporates energy-saving initiatives that also bolster it for the effects of climate change, as the eco-friendly city is designed to manage the rainfall-related flooding from a 100-year storm event.