2017 AEC Excellence Awards

First place: Foster + Partners and FR-EE

For Mexico City’s New International Airport (Nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de Mexico - NAICM), Foster + Partners and FR-EE had one core goal in mind: Put people first.

At 743,000 square meters, it will be one of the world’s largest airports. The entire terminal is enclosed within a continuous lightweight spaceframe, embracing walls and roof in a single, flowing form, evocative of flight. But its primary design focus is the passenger experience. With an open air concept, travelers will be able to see the gates and where they are heading in a space full of daylight. The design also anticipates the predicted increase in passenger numbers by 2028 and beyond, along with an expansion plan through 2062 for an eventual six runways.

Second place: LiRo Group

Taking place underneath the bustling streets of Manhattan is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the United States. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s East Side Access—first discussed in the 1950s and finally initiated in the late 1990s—will connect trains from Long Island and Queens to the east side of Manhattan. This includes an eight city-block long concourse and multiple train platforms 150 feet beneath Grand Central Station as well as major renovations of Harold Interlocking, the busiest railway junction in the country.

When design and construction first started on East Side Access, BIM wasn’t even in existence. But in the middle of the actual construction, LiRo Group’s Virtual Design and Construction team came on board to successfully implement BIM to analyze, visualize, and communicate project geometry, data, and workflows.

Third place: Norconsult AS

The team turned to BIM for not only coordination and collaboration with design and construction of the new Ulriken tunnel in Norway, but also to create a fully immersive game and virtual reality experience. As Northern Europe’s most-trafficked single-track tunnel, the Norwegian railway between Fløen and Arna required increased capacity and safety.

This meant boring through Mount Ulriken to build a new, parallel 7.8 km tunnel and upgrading existing stations that are already tight on space within two city centers. And this all had to be done without disrupting any of the current railway traffic.