In Part 1, we catch up with the Project of the Year and Chair’s Award Winners and the National Design-Build Student Competition Finalists
DBIA spent a full week in Las Vegas earlier this month with thousands of design-build professionals for the 2025 Design-Build Conference & Expo. Part 1 of our podcast recap focuses on two major highlights: the Project/Team Awards and the National Design-Build Student Competition. This episode of Design-Build Delivers is brought to you by ARKANCE — an Autodesk Platinum Partner.
Below is a quick roundup of the projects featured in the episode and the people interviewed for each one. Full project details, jury comments, and student competition information can be found at dbia.org.
Featured Projects and Interviews
Project of the Year
Kansas City International Airport — New Single Terminal & Garage
Interview: Mark Goodwin, Clark Construction
Chair’s Award
Hurricane Ian Sanibel Island Access
Interviews:
- Toby Mazzoni, Superior Construction
- Paul Suellentrop, DeMoya Infrastructure
National Design-Build Student Competition
1st Place — Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (D&T Construction)
Students: Alyson Buchholz, Sergio Gonzalez, Coulter Langmaid, Casey Lavin, Jacquelyn Lomano (captain)
Faculty Advisor: Tom Kommer
2nd Place — University of Florida (Cypress)
Students: Elijah John, Aidan Newsom, Asa Richards (captain), Nicholas Soler, Lucas Wicks
Faculty Advisor: Russell Walters
Additional Interview: Asa Richards, Best Individual Presenter Award
3rd Place — Alfred State College (Pioneer Design-Build)
Students: Jessica Budd, Fernanda Ceja, Selena Fullone, Owen Lantiegne (captain), Connor Welsh
Faculty Advisor: William Dean
What’s Next
Part 2 of our recap arrives in December and features interviews with:
- Janice Zahn — Distinguished Leadership Award
- Britt Sanford — Distinguished Leadership Award
- David Shadpour — Distinguished Leadership Award
- Jennifer Macks — Distinguished Leadership Award
- Bill Reifsteck — 2025 Brunelleschi Lifetime Achievement Award
All In at the Design-Build Conference & Expo: Teams that Won Big in Vegas
Resources
Want to learn more? Check out these resources mentioned in the episode:
Chapters
0:00 — Welcome to (Back From) Las Vegas
2:03 — Airport Royalty: KCI is Project of the Year
14:48 — The Project You Hope You Never Have to Do: Sanibel Island Access Wins Chair’s Award
37:41 — Cal Poly Hates to Lose: 2025 Student Competition Winner
37:52 — Once a Gator, Always a Gator: Second Place with UF
43:06 — There is No I in Team, but There Is One in Individual: Best Individual Presenter Asa Richards
45:03 — Creating a Legacy: Alfred State Shows Up Again
50:43 — Before We Pass the Mic: Part 2 Coming in December
The Design-Build Delivers Podcast is sponsored by ARKANCE. Learn more at arkance.us/dbia.
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