The American Concrete Institute (ACI) has announced the winners of the 2018 Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards during the Concrete Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas.
https://youtu.be/O59ohJJGB38
ACI presented the highest honour to Viaduct Over River Almonte in Garrovillas de Alconétar, Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, for demonstrating excellence in concrete innovation and technology.
The project is a high-speed rail line under construction between Madrid and the Extremadura, a western Spanish region bordering Portugal. Once complete, the line will cross over the River Almonte on a 996 m (3270 ft) long viaduct—a concrete arch bridge with a main span of 384 m (1260 ft).
According to ACI, the line is designed to carry designed to carry 350 km/h (218 mph) rail traffic. Key design features include a four-legged arch configuration; 80 MPa (11,603 psi) high-performance concrete; an efficient erection method, with temporary towers and stays; and an innovative monitoring system
The 384 m viaduct is intended to offer out-of-plane stability and improved response against cross wind effects and aesthetics. The bridge consists of durable materials and includes a bespoke barrier to force birds to soar upward and above the overhead mast line. Also, the bridge arch comprised high-performance, self-consolidating concrete and was constructed using an instrumentation and monitoring system which provides information on the behavior of the structure during construction and service.
An independent panel of industry professionals selected winners based on architectural and engineering merit, creativity, innovative construction techniques or solutions, innovative use of materials, ingenuity, sustainability, resilience, and functionality.
Additional winning projects were selected from among several possible categories, and included:
- Decorative Concrete
- 1st Place: Roofing of the Montpellier-South of France TGV Station in Montpellier, Herault, France.
- 2nd Place: Water Garden in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- High-Rise Buildings
- 1st Place: Reston Station OB1 Tower in Reston, Virginia, USA.
- 2nd Place: Nexus Shopping and Business in Setor Marista, Goiânia, Brazil.
- Infrastructure
- 1st Place: Viaduct Over River Almonte in Garrovillas de Alconétar, Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain.
- 2nd Place: Viroflay Underground Train Station – in Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
- Low-Rise Buildings
- 1st Place: University of Iowa Visual Arts Building, in Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
- 2nd Place: Design & Build of South Marina Yacht Club at Lusail (BP15) in Doha, Qatar.
- Mid-Rise Buildings
- 1st Place: 1200 Intrepid Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- 2nd Place: Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
- Repair & Restoration
- 1st Place: Provo City Center Temple in Provo, Utah, USA.
- 2nd Place: Ford Theaters Off Season Improvements Phase 2 & 3 in Hollywood, California, USA.
More information on the winning projects is available at ACIExcellence.org. Entries for the 2019 Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards are being accepted now through 2 April 2019.
