Cultural Institution- Project of the Year

National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Chantilly, Va.

The National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport allows the Smithsonian Institution to showcase more of its vast collection and tell the story of aviation and space exploration in a hanger-style setting.

Smithsonian officials had longed to build an aviation museum near the Chantilly, Va., airport, but the project remained a dream until Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, International Lease Finance Corp. of Los Angeles chairman and CEO, donated $65 million.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Chantilly began construction in April 2001, after receiving the $156 million contract to construct the 615,000-sq.-ft. museum through a best-value procurement method.

Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum of St. Louis designed the facility. When additional funds are raised, the project will include a second phase with a restoration hanger and storage facilities.

Hensel Phelps offered the owner $5.9 million in value-engineering ideas, of which $2.1 million were selected. The company donated 100 percent of its shared savings back to the Smithsonian.

The exhibition space is 10 stories high and the length of three football fields. Planes are suspended from 21 steel, arched trusses. Two elevated overlooks enable visitors to study suspended planes from above as well as at ground level.

Hensel Phelps completed the project in time for a grand opening on Dec. 15, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' notorious first flight. The construction firm remained onsite through April.

The museum's 176.5-acre parcel sits just south of the main terminal at Dulles Airport. The facility has access to an active runway so planes can fly in and taxi directly to the museum.

Such close proximity to a functioning airport required close cooperation and partnering with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the site contractor, New Construction of Vienna, Va.

Hensel Phelps created a separate construction entrance, and no disruptions of airport activities occurred during museum construction.

Hensel Phelps self-performed the earthwork, concrete and rough and finish carpentry. Seventy-four subcontractors worked on the project.

About 415 workers were onsite at peak periods. All together, about 1,500 craftspeople contributed to the project. Hensel Phelps held numerous barbeques and team events to help motivate workers and thank them for a job well done.

Assembling the main hanger and erecting the 100-ton, steel, triangulated trusses that support the roof and bear the weight of the display aircraft presented the most challenging aspect of the project. The trusses, spaced 50 ft. apart, are 17 ft. wide at the base, 345 ft. long and span 230 ft. They are anchored to concrete thrust blocks.

Each truss can support more than 22,000 lbs. or six aircraft with a combined weight of 14,000 lbs. The original design called for welding the three sections of each truss together, but Hensel Phelps proposed using bolts instead. The bolts sped the time of erection, saved the owner about $370,000 and ensured the quality of the connections. Crews lifted the first truss into place at the end of January 2002.

A Hypalon single-ply roofing system that resists chemicals, exhaust and oil covers the hangar. It was selected because of the museum's closeness to airport takeoffs and landings. The balance of the building has an aluminum roof.

The project included constructing a screening pit and seating tiers for the 479-seat IMAX theater, erecting steel for the 164-ft.-tall observation tower and adding components to a central utility plant.

During the final 12 months, work focused on completing the interior and installing of 82 invaluable aircraft. Many of the airplanes and space artifacts required reassembly in the hanger and positioning either on the ground or suspended from the trusses.

Crews began putting the Enola Gay, used to bomb Hiroshima during World War II, together about four months before construction of the entire museum wrapped up. It sits on the ground. Each of the suspended aircraft are positioned in their typical flight positions, with an aerobatic airplane upside down.

Hensel Phelps created a formal partnering program to ensure commitment of all vested parties from the start. The project team worked together to overcome obstacles and find solutions to problems as they cropped up.

The Smithsonian and Hensel Phelps considered quality of workmanship a top priority. The contractor, construction manager Parsons Brinckerhoff of New York and an architect from HOK conducted weekly job walks to assess the quality.

Concerned about safety, Hensel Phelps instituted a comprehensive safety program for itself and subcontractors. Before starting any new activity, the company held preparatory meetings to review quality and safety requirements. It also performed job hazard analyses. The company succeeded in keeping the jobwide incident rate at 8.8 percent.

"This was a tough job," said one of the judges. "The goals were well defined and the team stepped up to the plate and performed."

Owner: Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum
Architect: "Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum"
General Contractor: Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Architectural Woodwork: "Brunswick Woodworking Co., Inc."
Masonry: "Calvert Masonry, Inc."
"HVAC, Mechanical, Plumbing": "John J Kirlin, Inc."
Steel Space Frame System: "MERO Structures, Inc."
Landscaping: Valley Crest
Composite Tile-Faced Panel System: "Wyatt, Inc."
Drilled Concrete Piers: Dominion Casisson

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