BUILT TO LAST.

• Position: BUILDING NC

From city skyscrapers to a hair-raising water park, the state's most compelling new structures run the gamut. The fourth annual Building North Carolina awards, selected from projects completed between Duly 1,2016 and June 30,2017, showcase commercial structures based on their design, innovation and community impact.

OVERALL DESIGN

300 SOUTH TRYON

CHARLOTTE

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: BALFOUR BEATTYUS, DALLAS

ARCHITECTS: LS3P, CHARLESTON, SX., AND COOPER CARRY, ATLANTA

COST: $550 MILLION

SIZE: 650,000-SQUARE-FOOT OFFICE TOWER AND AN 18-STORY HOTEL

As the tallest tower to join Charlotte's skyline since the 2007-09 recession, 300 South Tryon has symbolic oomph if not a household name adorning the 25-story building. That's to take nothing away from anchor and money-management company Barings LLC, which oversees $288 billion. Barings, formerly Babson Capital Management, is owned by Springfield, Mass.-based MassMutual Life Insurance Co. Food service company Elior North America, part of Paris-based Elior Group, moved its headquarters to 300 South Tryon and developed a French restaurant and coffee shop on the ground floor. The cool factor for many will be the office tower's adjacent building, a Kimpton boutique hotel slated to open on Nov. 1. Dubbed the Kimpton Tryon Park, it's smaller than its big brother but perhaps gets bragging rights with a 1,400-square-foot rooftop bar and event space. The Spectrum Cos., based in Charlotte, developed both projects.

MEDICAL PROJECT

NORTH CAROLINA HEART & VASCULAR HOSPITAL

RALEIGH

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: SKANSKA USA, NEW YORK, N.Y.

ARCHITECT: EYP INC., ALBANY, N.Y.

COST: $235 MILLION

SIZE: 306,000 SQUARE FEET

The eight-story hospital for UNC Rex Healthcare is wired for the future. In addition to 114 patient rooms, two hybrid labs allow physicians to perform two procedures at once rather than scheduling separate surgical dates. The operating rooms double as training auditoriums where students can manipulate cameras. Patients are monitored even after they leave thanks to wearable technology. The hospital's bells and whistles include a sculpture by Matt McConnell that greets visitors entering the soaring lobby. It's one piece in an art collection worth more than $300,000. The hospital is expected to employ about 600 people and care for more than 80,000 patients per year.

ENTERTAINMENT/ SPORTS PROJECT

REYNOLDS COLISEUM

RALEIGH

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: DANIS, DAYTON, OHIO

ARCHITECTS: CRA ASSOCIATES INC., CHAPEL HILL; HOK, ST. LOUIS, MO.

COST: $35 MILLION

SIZE: 186,000 SQUARE FEET

Basketball mecca to presidential pulpit, N.C. State...