news : article

July 2006 - Prize awarded for constructing "building of the year" in Houston

Statsbygg (the Directorate of Public Construction and Property), has completely renovated the home of the Norwegian Consul General in Houston, Texas. Upon completion the building was declared "building of the year" by the Greater Houston Building Society. The award went to the American engineering company LBJ Construction for renovating the building, a job that was finished on the 17th of May last year (Norway's Constitution Day).

Houston has 10 million inhabitants (according to Statsbygg) and a lot of interesting construction projects. "We are very happy that our project won this competition", says Department Manager Siri Berg of Statsbygg. Project Manager Øystein Franing praises the cooperation between Consul General Elisabeth Roderburg, LBJ Construction and the American architect Nancy Ganucheau.

"In Houston there are great climate changes all year round and we have therefore given the choice of material a lot of consideration... Stone is used on many of the floors of the house to cool it down, and many Americans were surpised by this choice of material," says the project manager.

In its verdict the jury focused on the choice of simple materials and good design. Compared with the old building, the quality of the new Consul residence has been significantly improved.

For more information please contact:
Øystein Franing, project manager of Statsbygg, ph. (+47) 22954232/41435435
Cecilie Johansen, Communications Consultatnt ofStatsbygg, ph. (+47) 22954007/41540067.

(This is an unofficial translation, from Norwegian to English, of this article that appears on the Statsbygg website.)