The Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT) awarded Skyline Construction and the Iron Workers (IW) Local 63 Training Center in Chicago its project of the year award in the architectural ornamental (above 5,000 work hours) category.
Skyline Construction is a full-service general contractor based in Illinois, specializing in highly technical commercial projects. IW Local 63’s training center, known as the House of Glass, is in Broadview, Illinois, and features two arc-shaped, 50-foot-tall glass curtainwalls on its east and west façades, creating a luminous “jewel box” appearance. Architectural firm Gensler designed the center to merge aesthetic ambition with functional purpose.
The facility is a training hub for architectural and ornamental ironworkers and a symbol of the craft’s future. In addition to its unique design, the building features a suspended five-ton bridge crane over a centralized training floor to lift and maneuver glass panels, as well as a 20-foot-tall water chamber for weather-testing curtainwall.
“Delivering a facility this complex required an extraordinary level of coordination between our field teams, trade partners and the design group,” says Wes Klockowski, senior project executive at Skyline Construction. “From the curved glass curtainwalls to the specialized training and testing spaces, every element was crafted to elevate the industry’s capabilities.”
According to IW 63 office manager Laura David, the project’s scope of work included curtainwall (IG Commercial), stairs (Nick’s Metal, Williams Steel and Skyline Ornamental), handrails (Skyline Ornamental), solar (R&S Architectural), door systems (Assa Abloy), and structural (Nick’s Metal, Williams Steel and Skyline Ornamental), among others.
Under Armour Inc., Whiting-Turner Construction and IW Local 5 received the project of the year award in the architectural ornamental (below 5,000 work hours) category for Under Armour’s global headquarters in Baltimore. Pioneer Cladding & Glazing was the contract glazier on the project.
Click here to read the full list of the 2024 project of the year winners.