Opus Presented Two Awards by the Design-Build Institute of America

This fall, we were honored to receive two awards from the Design-Build Institute of America Mid-AmericaRegion (DBIA-MAR)  for our work on the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) in Wichita, Kan. I, along with Oscar Healy and our partners at the Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) attended the Design-Build Awards, affectionately themed “If you design-build it, they will come.” The awards recognize the best of the best projects in the region and winning developments that demonstrate successful application of design-build principles and best practices such as early collaboration, integrated project delivery and unique solutions.

First up, KLC won best in class for an institutional project under $10 million, receiving the category’s Honor award. The judges noted that our efforts emulate the style of the surrounding buildings and landscape, while creating a unique structure were deciding factors. Since collaboration is a key element in all of our projects, we determined early through conversations with our clients and the educators at KLC that open and honest dialogue is a key element to their curriculum. With this in mind, we took a unique approach to the space, using glass walls and flexible meeting spaces designed to foster collaboration and encourage dialogue and transparency.

Additionally, the team was honored with a Design Excellence Award. New this year, this optional award is only granted if the judges feel a project truly hit a home run in demonstrating excellence in design.

Reinforcing the success of the project, Matt Jordan, COO of the Kansas Leadership Center, commented: “KLC and KHF believe design-build gave us the best chance of meeting our goals, which included creating an ideal participant experience, establishing KLC as a permanent institution, and creating functional and efficient spaces in the new facility. We are very pleased with the finished product and how the building meets these objectives. In addition, the building was completed on time and within budget!”

KLC is a prime example of an Opus project that combines our deep-rooted experience, collaborative approach and superior design skills to create an award-winning development. We were honored to accept these awards on behalf of the entire project team and to have a hand in creating a new space for people to learn and grow in their community.