University Times

The Swanson School of Engineering’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation has received an international 2012 Educational Facility Design Award from the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI).

The 22,000-square-foot Mascaro Center — a LEED Gold certified center of excellence in sustainable engineering — was praised by the CRSI Design Awards jury as being a “creative structure that adds exceptional efficiency without compromising use or aesthetics.”

Built on top of and through the existing two-story basement of the Swanson school’s Benedum Hall, the Mascaro Center was completed in 2009.

In addition to the educational facility category, CRSI Design Awards were given to commercial and multi-family residential projects. “The winning projects showcase the innovative design possibilities and qualities of using reinforced concrete and the exceptional collaborative management required during the construction of these outstanding structures,” said Robert Risser, CEO and president of CRSI.

The awards program is open to architects, engineers, contractors and fabricators in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Entries were evaluated on aesthetics, innovation, engineering achievement, functional excellence and economy of construction.

Facilities Management staff responsible for the center construction project were Joe Fink, associate vice chancellor; Canard S. Grigsby Jr., senior project manager for design; Christopher Niemann, senior project manager for construction, and Park Rankin, University architect.

The outside companies responsible for building the Mascaro Center, all headquartered in Pittsburgh, were the architectural firm Edge Studio, the engineering firm Atlantic Engineering Services of Pittsburgh, reinforcing bar fabricator Whitacre Engineering, LEED general contractor Mascaro Construction and consultant and laboratory planner NBBJ Architects.