JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) —
The Air Force Civil Engineer Center just lately introduced the winners of the 2022 Air Force Design Awards, recognizing 4 services that reveal excellence in design, sustainability and vitality effectivity.
“This year’s winning projects promote creative and outstanding design solutions that further support the Department of the Air Force meeting critical national defense priorities,” mentioned Col. George Nichols, AFCEC’s Facility Engineering Directorate deputy director.
“Our installations are our weapon system platforms that we operate from. Resilient facilities are essential to maintaining an agile, lethal and ready force, and we continue to support Air and Space Force missions by providing innovative built infrastructure through a delicate, balanced approach that both enhances mission capabilities and reduces operational costs,” Nichols mentioned.
Since its inception in 1976, the annual Air Force Design Awards program has been honoring the highest initiatives that exemplify the most effective structure and constructing design whereas complying with Department of Defense and Air Force standards. The program, in tandem with the DAF’s private-sector companions, acknowledges initiatives that obtain design excellence associated to the pure and constructed setting primarily based on three ranges of recognition: The Honor Award, which is the highest recognition, adopted by the Merit and Citation Awards.
Four initiatives acquired recognition this yr:
2022 Honor Awards
• Facility Renovations and/or Additions Category: Laughlin West Gate ID Check Area, Laughlin Air Force Base
• Facility Renovations and/or Additions Category: Renovation Program Executive Office, Building 6, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2022 Merit Award
• Facility New Construction Category: New Satellite Fire Station, March Air Reserve Base, California
2022 Citation Award
• Facility Renovations and/or Additions: Research Facility, B45, Wright-Patterson AFB
This yr, the awards program supervisor at AFCEC enhanced the submission and analysis course of by establishing extra goal and clear analysis standards and implementing a brand new on-line submission system so initiatives could be evaluated extra shortly.
“The biggest change this year is that the awards program was fully aligned with the Air Force Corporate Facilities Standards program which encompasses a bases Installation Facilities Standard. The union of the AFCFS and USAF award programs create the synergy to promote design quality more effectively for our Air and Space Forces facilities,” mentioned Adriana Rodriguez, Air Force Architect and Air Force Design Awards program supervisor. “We required all of the designs to be completed in accordance with the AFCFS and the associated IFS to be eligible for design awards.”
In addition to evaluating initiatives for compliance with these requirements, a four-person board made up of subject material consultants from AFCEC’s Standards and Evaluations Branch assessed the entries primarily based on aesthetics. They evaluated every design’s embodiment of permanence, a fusion of performance, total value management, vitality effectivity, sustainability and local weather resilience.
“The winning projects demonstrated the Air Force’s dedication to innovation in pursuit of design excellence to create sustainable and long-lasting facilities and installations,” Rodriguez mentioned.
The awards program is led by AFCEC’s Facility Engineering Directorate, the unit accountable for the design and building of value efficient and sustainable constructed infrastructure for air and area missions.
“Since the program’s inception, recognizing and promoting design excellence has been the program’s fundamental ethos,” Rodriguez mentioned. “It’s an honor for us to reward individuals and organizations that have continued to elevate the quality of facilities and inspire thoughtful engineering and construction.”
A proper presentation of the awards takes place in the course of the annual AFCEC Design and Construction Partnering Symposium, in San Antonio, scheduled for Jan. 11-12, 2023.
