The project involved a 50,000-square-foot building that houses the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Space Exploration Center. The facility is located near Cape Canaveral, Fla., and bidders were required to recommend design elements that meet or exceed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum criteria. The project also required that the bids include a post-construction service component.

Chapters that submitted proposals include: California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, California State Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo, California State University at Chico, California State University at Sacramento, Central Washington University, Colorado State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Illinois State University, Iowa State University, McMaster University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Northeastern University, Northern Kentucky University, Oregon State University, Pennsylvania State University, Pittsburg State University, Purdue University, Southern Polytechnic State University, University of Maryland-College Park, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Washington State University, Weber State University, and the Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Judges of the competition’s first round were drawn from MCAA’s Career Development Committee. They will meet on Jan. 9 to evaluate all the proposals and choose the top four best scoring bids to compete in the final round on March 19, 2013 at MCAA 2013 in San Antonio.

Publication date: 1/7/2013