Sneak Preview: The 2024 Yearbook of Engineering Achievement Competition

Civil+Structural Engineer Media is gearing up for the 2024 Yearbook of Engineering Achievement (YEA) competition and we need you.  We are still a little less than three months from the start of the 2024 YEA competition, but now is the time to start thinking about those projects that really stood out this year and prepare to submit them for this prestigious award. The competition attracts and invites projects that have elevated the industry in five different categories: 

1. Water/Stormwater/Wastewater
2. Housing/Residential
3. Environmental/Sustainability
4. Transportation/Infrastructure
5. Structures

To help you assess, we’ve put together a few questions you may want to ask yourselves to help you determine which one (or more) to submit. If you answer yes to one or more of the following, you may have a winner on your hands: 

• Overall, did this project contribute to elevating the industry? 
• Did it make a community impact? 
• Did it make an environmental impact? 
• Was there an innovative component to the technical processes? 
• Was there a groundbreaking vision at the heart of the project?
• Was the execution absolutely stellar – (e.g., on time, on budget)? 

Past Winners Inspire

If you’re curious about how your project(s) may stack up, here are a few of the winners from last year to give you a good idea of what voters (your peers) are looking for when it comes to elevating the industry. In 2023, there were a total of 14 winners in four categories. We’ve highlighted the top four winners in each category below: 

Transportation/Infrastructure: Orlando International Airport Terminal C – Summit Award Winner

Firm: HNTB Corporation

The details: This project addressed the challenges of rapid growth and tourism in the region. The 1.8 million square foot terminal had features to maximize safety, security, and efficiency. For example, 100 percent automated screening lanes, 100 percent facial recognition, “e-gates” for international departure, an innovative landside terminal

design, and 100 percent trackable RFID Independent Carrier System were all part of the package. The four-year project finished on time with no disruptions to airport operations and its design captures the elements of water, foliage and sky with expansive glass skylights, terrazzo art interpretations of natural springs and incredibly life-like artificial palm and bald cypress trees. It’s also designed to be part of one the first LEEDv4 airport campuses and has a big community impact since it’s one of the first airports to fully integrate multimodal ground air-rail transportation. 

Wastewater/Stormwater: Buescher State Park Dam

Firm: HALFF

The details: In 2017, Hurricane Harvey damaged the old Buescher State Park Dam. Halff stabilized the dam and was then contracted again for a more permanent solution. The new dam pays homage to the old one in its look and feel, while meeting current standards to preserve the economic importance of the park for years to come. Stream functionality was improved; an additional wildlife habitat was created; and an innovative approach was developed to reduce potential impact to endangered species. 

Housing/Residential: Carlsbad Fire Station No. 2

Firm: SMR-ISD Consulting Structural Engineers, Inc. 

The details: This new fire station was reconstructed at the site of the 1960s station it replaced. It had a 0.42-acre footprint and the fire chief was skeptical that a new fire station that met current operational needs, goals, and policies of the City of Carlsbad Fire Department and the city was possible on the same property. The station includes six dormitories, four private bathrooms and office space to accommodate five firefighters and one captain on duty. The lower floor houses the apparatus bay with fast-acting four-fold doors at the egress of each of the three bays along with the laundry room, a shop, and secure EMS room. The second-floor housing area has a full kitchen, an indoor dining area and outdoor dining area with a BBQ. The new station is approximately three times larger than the original station and sustainability features include solar panels, a solar hot water heater, low-energy-use lighting, and two EV charging stations.

Environmental/Sustainability: Ballston Wetland Park

Firm: Arlington County Department of Environmental Services

The details: Over the years, the Ballston Pond which was originally designed as a stormwater facility had filled up with sediment. Retrofitting the Ballston Wetland Park was a high-priority project. Additionally, retrofitting the pond to provide higher quality water treatment helped the county comply with the municipal separate storm sewer system permit and contributed to restoring the Chesapeake Bay. It’s now able to take  excess rainwater from 450 surrounding acres, captures trash and serves as a wildlife refuge and pastoral commons within the Ballston “urban village” setting. 

What Next? 

If you have projects completed or scheduled to be completed before the end of 2024, they’re eligible for submission. Multiple project submissions are allowed, but limited to one entry per category. It’s $100 to enter and the submission date will open up on October 1 and go through November 1, so you’ve got plenty of time to think about those entries now. After that – there’s a two-week, online voting period where the Zweig Group and Civil+Structural Engineer Media audience will be encouraged to vote for the projects they think demonstrate the best of the best from the AEC industry in 2024. 

The project that earns the most votes overall during the voting period will be crowned the 2024 Summit Project. There will be other winners in each category too. 

Stay tuned to our channels in the coming weeks to learn more about the voting process, winner announcements and publicity.  We can’t wait to see what projects you submit to help us continue to Elevate the Industry.