"Best of the Best Projects" winners for 2014, designed to identify the pinnacle of design and construction achievements in the U.S. among projects completed between June 2013 and June 2014.

Atlanta, GA (March 9, 2015) – Engineering News Record magazine (ENR) released its national "Best of the Best Projects" winners for 2014, designed to identify the pinnacle of design and construction achievements in the U.S. among projects completed between June 2013 and June 2014.

The Clemson University SCE&G Energy Innovation Center, located in North Charleston, SC, won Best of the Best in the nation in the Energy/Industrial category.
The initial call for entries resulted in over 700 project teams submitting their best work to the regional Best Projects competitions. In each of the 10 regions, the editors assembled panels of judges to select the regional winners in 20 categories.

Once the regional winners were chosen, the top winners in each category from each region moved up to the national competition. A new set of judges from across the country examined each project in an effort to distinguish the best in terms of teamwork, safety, overcoming challenges, innovation, and quality.

"It is an incredible honor to receive one of these awards, let alone two, and we are thoroughly pleased to see these amazing projects receive such esteemed industry recognition," says Millard Choate, President of Choate Construction. "All team members involved on both the Carter's, Inc. and SCE&G Energy Innovation Center projects should be very proud. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to excellence."

With a core purpose of speeding innovation to market in the field of wind energy, Clemson University's SCE&G Energy Innovation Center is the world's most sophisticated and most powerful wind turbine drivetrain testing equipment. Located in North Charleston, SC, the LEED Gold certified facility was designed by AEC and supports the critical testing of next generation off-shore wind turbines by allowing drive-train manufacturers to simulate over 20 years of rigors faced by the turbine systems at sea in a few months. The SCE&G Energy Innovation Center has also received numerous other awards:

* Project of the Year, Associated Builders and Contractors of the Carolinas
* Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction, Associated Builders and Contractors of the Carolinas
* Best Project for Energy/Industrial, ENR Southeast
* CMAA Project Achievement Awards
* Carolinas AGC Pinnacle Award – Building Category
* ACEC SC Engineering Excellence Award Winner
* Building Team Awards, Gold, BD + C

Choate also won an award for the nation's Best Interiors/Tenant Improvement category. The Carter's, Inc. headquarters in Atlanta, GA features a stunning 275,000-SF LEED Gold certified space, designed by Perkins + Will, which highlights the company's heritage of quality, innovation, and value throughout each of its 11 floors in Phipps Tower in Atlanta, GA.  An incredibly fast-tracked project, the Carter's, Inc. building team turned over one floor every week, resulting in the project's 20-week schedule completing on-time with zero safety issues.

"Best of the Best Projects" winners will be featured in the March 16, 2015 issue of ENR.