ASU Building wins DBIA Award, Achieves LEED Gold Status

The Arizona State University College of Nursing & Health Innovation Phase II building (NHI2) recently won the Design-Build Institute of America’s National Design-Build Award for an Education facility over $25 million, and was one of two buildings, out of hundreds of entries nationwide, to be nominated for the Best Overall Award. In addition, NHI2 has achieved LEED New Construction (LEED-NC) Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council, making it one of just a few LEED-NC Gold certified buildings in Phoenix.

To be considered for the DBIA National Design-Build Awards, projects must demonstrate successful application of design-build principles, including collaboration in the early stages of the project and the acceptance of single-entity risk. The project must be completed on time, on budget and without litigation. Winning projects are honored for advanced and innovative application of total Integrated Project Delivery and finding unique solutions to project challenges.

The sustainable LEED-NC Gold certified building features solar water heating, which harvests Arizona’s abundant renewable energy while reducing the building’s carbon footprint. More than three-quarters of construction waste (967 tons) was diverted from conventional landfills, materials used for the project contained recycled content and 70 percent of all wood products were certified by the Forest Stewardship.

The five-story, 84,000-square-foot, copper-clad urban building, located in downtown Phoenix, creates shade and adds architectural character to an evolving downtown core. It features classrooms, office and administrative space, a 240-seat conference center and a 60-seat computer classroom laboratory.

The NHI2 is part of a collection of seven buildings that thread together a cohesive and identifiable campus environment and is home to one of the largest and most innovative nursing programs in the U.S. The design-build team consisted of DPR Construction and SmithGroup architects.