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Portland-based PAE Consulting Engineers Inc. on Wednesday night received the top honor at the American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon Engineering Excellence Awards. The firm鈥檚 work on the Bud Clark Commons, for Home Forward, was named Project of the Year.

Projects submitted for the award were judged based on original application of new or existing technologies, future value to the engineering profession and public perception, sustainability, complexity and the degree to which the project met or exceeded the client鈥檚 needs.

Six other projects received Grand Awards in the competition, while another 25 were named Honor Award winners.

Former Portland Mayor Bud Clark, for whom the facility was named, introduced the idea for the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. The Bud Clark Commons was designed as a component in the plan, which was implemented in 2006.

Home Forward, formerly the Portland Housing Authority, was tasked with working toward a viable, cost-effective solution to address chronic homelessness. The project was completed within the $26 million budget and in a short period of time. Essentially, in less than three years the process went from participants and stakeholders brainstorming ideas to the doors being opened.

鈥淎bout 3,000 people will sleep in the streets tonight around Portland,鈥� Home Forward project manager Julie Livingston said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the problem.聽The solution is a lot more complicated. How do we help these people who are already often disenfranchised and marginalized in a way that helps them transition and function in society?鈥�

Recognizing that the homeless population is actually a huge expense to county and city resources 鈥� from stressing the capacities of law enforcement and hospital emergency rooms to causing damage to public and private property 鈥� Livingston and her team at Home Forward sat down with PAE consulting engineer Paul Schwer, Ralph DiNola of Green Building Services and a host of other stakeholders and contributors to the project. They were mindful that every person they helped was actually a financial benefit to the community.

鈥淲hat we said at the outset at these initial meetings was something like, 鈥極K, what if we don鈥檛 worry about budget and restrictions and just come up with ideas, then find a way to make those ideas work,鈥� 鈥� Schwer said. 鈥淪o we 鈥榖lue-skyed鈥� a couple of charrettes and it all came together as a team effort.鈥�

Both Schwer and Livingston stressed that it was a strong sense of teamwork that brought about project success.

PAE people got involved, as did all the principals and stakeholders not only from project design, but in the 鈥榤uddy boots鈥� stage of implementation. Holst Architecture, responsible for project design, was one of those contributors. Originally, Home Forward stated that a goal for the project was to be 鈥渆nergy efficient 鈥� green.鈥�

A full array of roof-mounted solar collection panels reduce outside energy requirements for the facility鈥檚 130 apartment units and 90-bed shelter. Efficiencies were also implemented in the structural skin to reduce air leakage. Sensors linked to each apartment鈥檚 thermostat turn off the HVAC when the window of a unit is opened to avoid wasting energy. Also, gray water is filtered and sent back into the plumbing in a dedicated 鈥減urple pipe鈥� system for toilets, significantly reducing overall water consumption.

In total, the efficiency systems were enough to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating and save $60,000 in annual operating costs. Those savings translated into providing a full meal 365 days a year for every resident and visitor to the building from a kitchen and dining facility built into the center.

鈥淭his is a model facility,鈥� said Stacy Riger, PAE鈥檚 marketing manager. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like it anywhere in the country (and) maybe the world. We hope it stands as a model for what can be done.鈥�

As the winner in Oregon, PAE鈥檚 Bud Clark Commons entry will be submitted for consideration in the National ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards. They will be held in Washington, D.C., on April 23.

For more information, visit www.acec.org/getinvolved/eea.cfm.