The BE&K Building Group is pleased to announce that the Vought Aircraft Industries-Global Aeronautica Manufacturing Complex in North Charleston, South Carolina, has received the 2007 Design-Build Award of Excellence — the highest honor possible for a design-build project — from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA). At the multifaceted complex, carbon-fiber fuselage sections are produced and assembled for Boeing's recently inaugurated 787 Dreamliner, the fastest-selling airplane in commercial aviation history. Development of this advanced manufacturing complex — which has a construction value of $122.6 million — represents the largest single capital investment in South Carolina in the past 10 years, second only to BMW's historic decision to bring its luxury car assembly to the state in 1992.
The design-build team of the BE&K Building Group and BRPH Architects-Engineers was chosen from a short list of aviation industry leaders to complete the complex on a 240-acre site adjacent to the Charleston, South Carolina, International Airport. In keeping with Vought's and Global Aeronautica's requirements for speed-to-market to meet Boeing's production schedule, the project was completed while the 787 aircraft was still on the drawing board. This meant that the facility had to be designed and built while the product's manufacturing requirements were still in development. Only design-build could provide the fast response necessary to meet the owner's changing requirements. Vought and Global Aeronautica were able to begin operations in mid-summer 2006. Boeing rolled out the 787 Dreamliner in July 2007.
The $122.6-million project was led by the BE&K Building Group's regional operation in Greenville, South Carolina.
