The Engineering News-Record (ENR) California magazine last week presented the Costa Mesa City staff with the award for Best Cultural Project in Southern California for their work on the Donald Dungan Library and Norma Hertzog Center.
“The Donald Dungan Library and Norma Hertzog Community Center are the crown jewels of the City and the centerpiece of our Westside Restoration efforts,” Mayor John Stephens said. “Congrats to our Public Services team for shepherding these projects through and winning this prestigious award. I’m heartened to know they are being recognized by their engineering peers.”
Each year, ENR California assembles a group of judges, with varying specialties and expertise in the construction industry, to review, score and form a panel to determine Best Projects winners for the region.
“ENR is the construction industry’s premier publication providing news, analysis, data and opinion,” said Public Services Director Raja Sethuraman. “The City of Costa Mesa is a proud receipt of the Best Project Award from ENR for the Donald Dungan Library. The award recognized the City and the consultant team for the library’s aesthetic quality and design, LEED certification, as well as construction. This is one of several awards that the Donald Dungan Library project received over the past couple of years.”
The two-phase, $36.5-million Lions Park Project was completed under budget. The first phase included the demolition of the longtime Downtown Community Center and the creation of a new 23,355-square-foot, two-story library in that space.
The second phase saw the transformation of the original Donald Dungan library into a 9,200-square-foot, 300-seat community center to accommodate a variety of events.
To come up with the award winners, judges independently review entries, score each on pre-specified criteria, and convene with fellow judges to vote. Together, the judges’ panels select honorees for Best Project and Merit awards.
According to the ENR magazine, “sustainability underscored every aspect of the project, leading to LEED Gold certification. Efforts included repurposing demolished materials from the original community center site as recycled material base for the new library’s foundation. Grinding waste material on site also significantly limited the project’s waste volume and hauling.”