The ASHRAE Technology Awards program is a prestigious international competition that recognizes individuals applying innovative design solutions to their projects. These awards evaluate and acknowledge occupant comfort, indoor air quality, and energy conservation achievements. To prove the effectiveness of the design solutions, projects must include one year of verifiable operating data. 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. Each category has subsets for New, Existing, or Existing Commissioning projects.
As an industry leader in decarbonization, zero energy, and healthy buildings, CMTA is committed to improving the built environment by designing high-performance, sustainable projects. Over the past 20+ years, we have collected utility data on our projects to inform our design process, and continually put this data to the test through our annual submissions for the ASHRAE Technology Awards. With an unmatched record, CMTA stands as the all-time leader in the ASHRAE Technology Awards—one of the highest achievements in our industry. For the 2024 awards, we submitted projects in various markets, including K-12, higher education, commercial, healthcare, and athletic facilities. Each project has successfully progressed from the Chapter to the Regional Award level, with Regional winners advancing to the prestigious Society level competition.
CMTA’s first-place Society Level Award winners included Loudoun County Public Schools’ Aldie Elementary in Aldie, Virginia, topping the Existing – Education category. Originally built in 1928, the historic building is the District’s first to install a ground source heat pump system. The all-electric, energy-efficient renovation preserved and enhanced Aldie Elementary’s historical characteristics while reducing the facility’s energy use by 70%. Mountrail Williams Electric Co-op Headquarters Building in Williston, ND also earned a first-place award, winning the New – Commercial category. CMTA collaborated with JLG Architects to redevelop the existing site and design a new, four-story building to help meet the co-op’s current needs. The design included creating high-quality, unique, and functional light fixtures with sophisticated lighting control and sensor systems for the energy-efficient facility.
Liberty Mutual’s Boston, MA campus is another first-place winner, topping the Existing/EBCx – Commercial category. From initial occupancy to the present, CMTA has helped this LEED Gold-certified building consistently decrease its energy use and operating costs through continuous commissioning, making the Liberty Mutual Tower one of Boston’s highest-performing commercial office buildings. CMTA’s final first-place winner is Bon Secours Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital Retro-Commissioning project in the Existing – Healthcare Commissioning category. Partnering with GBBN Architects, CMTA’s retro-commissioning process saved nearly 8% in energy usage, a 63 EUI reduction, which equated to $181,000 in utility savings within the first year of operation. In addition, the carbon footprint was reduced by over 95 metric tons per year, and water usage was reduced by nearly 672,000 gallons per year.
Next, DC Public Schools’ John Lewis Elementary took home a second-place award in the New – Education category. CMTA partnered with Perkins Eastman to deliver DCPS’s first ground-up elementary school and the district’s first triple-certified building, pursuing LEED Platinum, zero energy, and WELL Platinum certifications. The 88,588 SF school establishes best practices for educational spaces while pushing the boundaries of improved indoor environmental quality and sustainable design.
Finally, rounding out CMTA’s Society level awards is George Washington University’s Thurston Residence Hall in Washington, DC, which received an honorable mention in the Existing – Residential category. CMTA and VMDO Architects provided this 100-year-old, 200,000 SF building with a complete interior overhaul, reducing the residence hall’s carbon footprint by nearly 35%.
CMTA team members from across our 35 offices attended the ASHRAE Winter Conference this year. The four-day conference included opportunities to discuss the latest engineering trends and code updates, establish connections with vendors, and get a preview of the newest technology. As we enter 2024, CMTA is excited to continue doing what we do best—designing energy-efficient, high-performance buildings that push the boundaries of sustainability.