Autodesk announces AEC Excellence Awards 2020 winners

This transportation project from Norway won under category: Infrastructure Design—Medium Project ($100 million–$500 million). (Source: Autodesk)

The largest balanced concrete cantilever bridge in the world. Living units on a floating island, with farms and green public spaces. An emergency COVID-19 hospital built in 10 days. A large-scale data center with the scope of future expansion. These are some of the projects that Autodesk revealed as winners of Autodesk 2020 AEC Excellence Awards. These awards are given to AEC professionals and projects that push boundaries of the technology and show creativity beyond imagination with the use of modern technologies like BIM and Autodesk software.

Evidently, 2020 has been a challenging year. When everything in the world got hit by the pandemic, the AEC industry stood up to the challenging times. Thinking along the lines of “reimagine possible,” an independent panel of judges selected the winners from more than 260 entries from 35 countries. This year’s competition had categories like Infrastructure Design, Building Design, and Construction, each with small, medium, and large size project awards. Project size is based on the total project cost in US Dollars.

Wajdi Mereb. (Source: Autodesk)
Innovator of the Year 2020, Wajdi Mereb. (Source: Autodesk)

Autodesk also announced the winner of this year’s Innovator of the Year award. Debuted in 2018, the new award recognizes a person who is transforming the design and construction industry. The 2020 Innovator of the Year, Wajdi Mereb, leads digital transformation at Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (Dubai RTA), using BIM to plan and design massive projects including a 15-km long extension of the Dubai Metro to the Expo 2020 site.

Normally, winners receive a trip to Autodesk University to showcase their project in a special awards ceremony, international media recognition, etc. But COVID-19 has invoked new normal situations and AU 2020 is going to happen virtually from November 17 to November 20. The winner will get honored for their achievements through a series of featured videos at Autodesk University. The sweet thing is AU 2020 is free for all, but registration is required.

The winners are:

  • Chandrawal Water Supply Project – 477 MLD Advanced Water Treatment Plant
    RWS & UWWM-EDRC, WWW SBG, WET-IC, L&T Construction, India
    This 477 MLD plant utilizes modern technologies including ozonation and granular activated carbon dual media filters.
  • Route E39, The Coastal Highway
    Norconsult, Norway
    This $490-million-dollar transportation project includes the largest balanced concrete cantilever bridge in the world.
  • City Rail Link
    Link Alliance, New Zealand
    This rail project allows twice as many people to live within 30 minutes of Auckland’s Central Business District.
  • Vigentina 9
    Lombardini22 S.p.A, Italy
    This project is a refurbishment of an existing building in a dense urban area in the city center of Milan, Italy.
  • WILD
    Katrina Urbanik AS, Norway
    The core of this ambitious development is three living units on a floating island, with farms and green public spaces.
  • South Beach Psychiatric Center New In-patient Building
    STV – Architectural Resources, United States
    This new 221,000-square-foot, 262-bed behavioral health facility was rapidly adapted for emergency COVID-19 support.
  • Kallang Polyclinic and Long Term Care Facility
    Tiong Seng Contractors Pte Ltd, Singapore
    A hybrid healthcare development, this complex includes a wide range of clinical centers and a long-term care facility.
  • Multinational Data Center, Malmo
    John Sisk & Son, Sweden
    Supported by complex underground infrastructure, this large-scale data center project is built for future expansion.
  • Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Sports Park
    China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd, China
    This modern sports complex is a new landmark, occupying 43.67 hectares with 2 stadiums, landscapes, and buildings.