3 Best Projects in Building Design

Small Project (less than $20 Million)

Basler & Hofmann AG

In a 3-story addition featuring a new cafeteria and canteen plus 350 square meters of office space, there’s more to Basler & Hofmann AG's expansion of its location in Esslingen, Switzerland than meets the eye. It has notable features, including photovoltaic (PV) cells on the roof and facade. More important, the project is one of the few in Switzerland to fully embrace BIM for the full lifecycle, and represents a revolution in the company’s approach to design, planning, and delivery.

Medium Project ($20 Million - $200 Million)

KieranTimberlake, BuroHappold Engineering, Shawmut Construction

To give students the hands-on, innovative experience they need to succeed in the 21st century, Brown University commissioned a new Engineering Research Center in 2014. Completed in 2017, the 80,000-square-foot building features labs, cleanrooms, an imaging suite, and flexible shared workspaces. The project was one of the first institutional labs in the country delivered using the integrated project delivery (IPD) model, in which the client, architect, engineers, and contractor are all responsible for project development, stakeholder engagement, and project management aimed at an on-time, on-budget project.

Large Project (over $200 Million)

Nordic — Office of Architecture/COWI

An expansion of Norway’s Stavanger University Hospital, scheduled to open in 2023, posed unique challenges for Nordic — Office of Architecture. With 650 patient rooms and 100,000 square meters of floor space enclosed in 4 buildings connected by a ring of glass bridges, the project’s size alone posed its own challenges. 

The project team—comprised of 2 architecture firms, 2 structural-engineering firms, MEP teams, and specialist consultants for fire and acoustic—were spread across Norway, so driving efficient effective communication and collaboration were essential.