ASHRAE Technology Awards are an annual, international competition recognizing individuals who apply creative design solutions within their projects across the globe. Each award is judged on specific areas of focus: occupant comfort, indoor air quality, and energy conservation. In addition, projects submitted must include one year’s worth of verifiable operating data to prove that the design solution was effective. Awards can be submitted within specific building type categories including Commercial Buildings, Institutional Buildings, Health Care Facilities, Industrial Facilities or Processes, Public Assembly, and Residential, all with subsets of New, Existing, or Existing Commissioning.
As an industry leader in zero energy, decarbonization, and healthy buildings, CMTA has incorporated data collection into its standard process for the last 15+ years and enjoys putting that data to the test annually with multiple submissions for ASHRAE Technology Awards. This past year, 2022, CMTA submitted nine awards total with all of them rising from Chapter winners to Regional winners to the Society (National) competition. The nine submitted projects ranged from K12 education to university life sciences to hospitality, community, and healthcare.
All seven of CMTA’s projects are within the U.S. The first-place winners included Baltimore City Public Schools Holabird and Graceland with Grimm + Parker Architects in the Institutional – New Construction. Holabird and Graceland are zero-energy combination elementary and middle schools with performance strategies including solar, geothermal HVAC, and ICF walls. The next first-place project is Arlington County Lubber Run Community Center with VMDO Architects in Community – New Construction. In-depth performance and systems studies helped make this new community center zero-energy ready while providing the community with a facility that meets their needs. The final first-place award belongs to the Historic Ingalls Courtyard by Marriott Hotels with Luminaut. The Ingalls Building is recognized as the first concrete-reinforced high-rise building in the world that fell into despair in the 2000’s. It was revitalized in 2020 and converted into an energy-efficient hotel, proving that historic buildings and sustainability can co-exist.
CMTA was one of two U.S. firms recognized this year with 2022 bringing in the most ASHRAE Technology Awards to date for the firm. This also included four other innovative projects demonstrating their dedication to sustainable design and healthy buildings. CMTA’s Second Place winners are CMTA Energy Solutions Office in the Commercial Buildings – Existing Facility category and North Dakota State University Vet Diagnostic Lab in the Other Institutional – New Facility category. The Honorable Mention winners are Major Hospital Wellness Center and YMCA in Public Assembly – New Facility and the University of Louisville Belknap Academic Building in Education – New Facility.
CMTA’s National Sustainability Vice President, Tony Hans commented, “The ASHRAE Technology Awards are a great way for us to recognize the innovative people working at CMTA at every level and a way for us to showcase the forward-thinking owners and design partners that we get to work with. Part of our culture is to go beyond what is expected and I couldn’t be prouder of our success this year.”
CMTA had a 30+ person contingent at the 2023 ASHRAE Winter Conference this year from across their 33 U.S. offices. ASHRAE is an important organization in the engineering industry with heavy CMTA participation. Over the course of four days, team members are learning about the latest engineering trends, code updates, connecting with vendors, and previewing technology on the horizon.