2023 Oregon Excellence in Concrete Award

We’re excited to announce that Phase 1—DeNorval Unthank Jr. Hall—of the UO Hamilton Walton Transformation Project was awarded a 2023 Oregon Excellence in Concrete Award for Residential/Multi Family. Presented by the Oregon Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (OACI) and the Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association (OCAPA), the Oregon Excellence in Concrete Awards “recognize projects that use concrete in extensive or innovative ways.”

Unthank Hall is a new flagship student dining and residence hall on the University of Oregon campus. Home to the University’s new Student Welcome Center, Unthank Hall also serves as the starting point for campus tours for all potential Ducks. The 208,000-sf building has slab-on-grade and two floors of post-tensioned concrete supporting five floors of wood construction. With large swathes of exposed polished concrete throughout the public spaces, the quality of the concrete work was extremely important to the successful realization of the project.

An important expression of concrete occurs in the PNW Market. After studying both steel and concrete for the double-height columns throughout this central dining space, the Mithun and Rowell Brokaw design team placed round concrete columns throughout. The slender proportions and shape of these columns echo a high canopied Oregon forest—reinforcing biophilic design elements that were central to the project.