Building excellence: associated builders and contractors honors Indiana projects.

• Author: Held, Shari
• Position: BUILDING INDIANA

EACH YEAR ASSOCIATED Builders and Contractors Inc. honors the best in merit shop construction in Indiana. Here are the projects that earned the latest excellence awards.

JUDGE'S SPECIAL--ELECTRICAL: INSTITUTIONAL

Carmel-based Gaylor Group Inc. complied with stringent "clean room" codes during the construction of the 225,000-square-foot Birck Nanotechnology Center in West Lafayette. Although the area had to be "dirt, dust and bacteria free," the $6.2 million, 24-month project, which at times required 60 electricians to be on-site, was completed on schedule. "We were able to overcome these challenges with detailed planning and close coordination among all the trades on the project," says project manager Justin Baker.

JUDGE'S SPECIAL--INSTITUTIONAL: MORE THAN $10 MILLION

What began as a renovation/addition to an existing building became the new 89,000-square-foot, three-story Manchester College Science Center in North Manchester upon the recommendation of Zionsville-based R.L. Turner Corp. "RLTC had the challenge of building a highly technical facility," says president Greg Turner. "Each department had different technical requirements that had to be carefully installed to maintain the integrity of experiments." The $14 million facility was completed two weeks ahead of schedule.

INSTITUTIONAL: MORE THAN $10 MILLION

Upgrading both the Fishers and Noblesville branches of the Hamilton East Public Libraries was a two-year, $21 million project for Fishers-based Meyer Najem Construction LLC. "The biggest challenge was building the additions while the libraries remained open," says senior project manager Phil Passen. "We had to construct hundreds of feet of temporary partitions that were not only weather-tight, but secure. At the same time we had to limit dust and noise."

INSTITUTIONAL: $2 MILLION TO $10 MILLION

It was a race to complete the radiation component of the Benesse Oncology Center in Shelbyville so equipment could be installed and tested before the doors opened. Fishers-based Meyer Najem Construction met this and other challenges presented during the 13-month, $7.5 million project, which began in the dead of winter and involved several weather-sensitive exterior materials. "The biggest challenge was utilizing all those different materials and installing them in sequence, given the weather constraints," says senior project manager Chris McCracken.

INSTITUTIONAL: LESS THAN $2 MILLION

Fishers-based Meyer Najem Construction completed the interior remodeling of two units at

Indianapolis' Westview Hospital Units C & D in only 30 weeks. The multiphase, $1 million project progressed while the hospital was occupied and fully operational. A major challenge was first-phase completion of the acute rehabilitation unit, allowing it to qualify for exempt certification. "We had only four weeks to get this portion of the project done," says pre-construction...