FCC Construction delivers 2010 Quality and Innovation Awards
At a ceremony in Torre Picasso, Madrid, on 11 March, FCC Construction presented its annual Quality Awards for Civil Engineering and Building and its annual Innovation Award for 2010.
The winning construction and R&D and innovation projects chosen by FCC Construction's Sustainability Committee were:
- Quality Award for the Best Building project of 2010: Porta Fira Hotel, built by the company's Catalonia Building II unit. Zone III. This building, designed by Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects and b720 Arquitectos, is comprised of two 117-meter towers joined at street level by an underground shopping area and entrances; it is located in Plaza Europa, in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona. The pseudocylindrical building will be used as a hotel and has a total floor area of 35,724 m2.
- Quality Award for the Best Civil Engineering project of 2010: Arterial Railway Network in Madrid. New Commuter Rail Station in Puerta del Sol-Gran Vía, built by the company's Transport Infrastructure team. Zone IX. The new Commuter Rail station in Sol is part of an 8,500-metre railway tunnel between the Atocha and Chamartín stations. This unique project, in terms of characteristics and location, posed a major technical challenge and placed Spanish engineering among the world's best. It comprised two main parts: the cavern (the largest excavated in earth in the world), and the access vestibules and Metro connections.
- Innovation Award 2010 for the new tubular façades on the Porta Fira Hotel, built by the company's Catalonia Building II unit. Zone III. The main objective of this R&D and innovation project was to research and develop a new type of tubular façade, primarily focused on the design of fixtures to the building, and their ability to support vibrations due to environmental factors, especially wind, on the exteriors of very tall buildings.
Following the presentation of awards, José Mayor, Chairman of FCC Construction, described the merits of the winning projects. In his closing remarks, FCC's Chairman and CEO, Baldomero Falcones, congratulated the winners and highlighted the importance of these awards within the company's continuous improvement policy.