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Sustainability & Innovative Design Honored with Third Annual CEMEX U.S. Building Awards

Las Vegas - March 14, 2008

Sustainable and innovative projects in California and Oregon took top honors in the Third Annual CEMEX U.S. Building Awards, announced last night at a reception at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2008 trade show in Las Vegas. From a juvenile justice center built to maximize sustainability to a ground-breaking water bypass system geared to improve the downstream migration of salmon, the projects executed the highest degree of innovation and vision for the environment.

"We are pleased that more and more architects, builders and contractors are finding ways to not only build their projects better, but to use cement, concrete and aggregates to build a sustainable future while achieving amazing designs," said Gilberto Perez, President of CEMEX USA. "CEMEX congratulates all the entrants on thinking green and putting it into action."

The awards recognize the best builders, designers and architects in the following categories: Sustainability, Residential, Institutional/Industrial, and Infrastructure. Winners were chosen from the 19 finalists and were highlighted for their use of concrete, execution of the project, architectural design, and attention for the environment. Many of the 73 entries included concrete as a green material used in harmony with the environment. The U.S. winners will later compete against winners from across the globe for the world title at the 17th CEMEX International Building Awards in Monterrey, Mexico, in October.

The Sustainability Category finalists were assessed on their innovative design and construction, effective use of recycled materials and energy-efficient construction. Judges also considered the project's ability to meet environmental and economic needs of both present and future generations. In addition, the functional performance of the project was considered - how it leverages productivity, health of the occupants and flexibility during the project's lifespan.

Sustainability Award Recipient & Institutional/Industrial Award Recipient: Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, San Leandro, Calif.
Located in the hills of San Leandro, Calif., the new 379,000 square foot Juvenile Justice Center has set national standards for serving the community's most vulnerable and troubled youth. The Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center is a state-of-the-art complex including a 360-bed Juvenile Detention Center, along with an integrated courthouse of five courtrooms and offices for the District Attorney, Public Defender, Clerk of the Court, Sheriff, Health Care Services, County Office of Education, Library, and Probation. The center is equipped with high-tech security features and incorporates medical exam rooms, dental facilities, and indoor activity spaces. Designed to greatly improve the safety and security of employees and detainees, the facility maximizes sustainability concepts by including a healthy indoor environment with natural light and fresh air and on-site solar power generation capabilities that will save taxpayer's dollars through energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction. The contract required the facility to achieve a LEEDTM Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). However, the design-build team exceeded this, making it the first LEEDTM Gold Certified facility of its kind in the U.S.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. was the builder and concrete contractor and Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum (HOK) was the architect/engineer on the project.

Residential Award Recipient: Fillmore Heritage Center, San Francisco, Calif.
The Fillmore Heritage Project exemplifies the impact that a well constructed building can have on a community. The project is located in the Fillmore neighborhood of the Western Addition district of San Francisco, which years ago was the center of the West Coast's Jazz movement. The project's mission was to reestablish the jazz district and revitalize the area by bringing new economic life into the struggling commercial corridor. The project's building contains 80 new residential condominiums, two restaurants, a new Yoshi's Jazz venue, and a museum, all atop underground parking. Through a five day pour cycle with a hand-set deck formwork system, the contractor used a waterproofing admixture, Kryton, from the basement through level three to increase the speed of the building's construction. This admixture was used within the CEMEX concrete mix for one of the first times in the San Francisco Bay Area, and provided a great savings of time and resources.

Webcor Concrete was the concrete contractor, LDA Architects was the architect, and Fillmore Development Associates, LLC, was the developer.

Infrastructure Award Recipient: Willamette Falls Flow Control, Oregon City, Ore.
In an effort to increase the survival rate of juvenile salmon migrating to the Pacific Ocean, PGE has installed a bypass system at the Willamette Falls. This system includes a 200-foot wide water flow control structure at the top of the falls. The concrete and rubber ramp helps fish avoid the rocks below by guiding them to the deep water at the base of the falls. To make this possible, three inflatable rubber dams were installed on top of the falls, helping PGE control the flow of water and steer the fish to the safest passage. Some very creative techniques of delivering the concrete and concrete mixes had to be devised because of the tough access of the project. To deliver the concrete, a high lead system was installed between the island and the top of the hill. This line was approximately 1,000 feet in length and moved over 2,000 yards of concrete for the entire job in two yard increments. The concrete was delivered to the top of the hill, unloaded into a two yard bucket, transported over the river to a line pump, and then placed over 200 feet away. Special concrete mix designs were used to extend the cure and increase the workability. The project was successfully completed in the face of many challenges: rising waters, heavy rains, difficult accessibility to the site and also the need to contain all construction materials and debris from having any negative environmental impact. The project is already improving the success of downstream migration of juvenile salmon. The goal is to increase the survival rate of 98 percent of all migrating salmon going over the falls.

Baseline Industrial was the general contractor and the engineer was David Bungi and Associates.

Sustainability Award Finalists:
·Burkholder Middle School, Henderson, Nev., Concrete Contractor: Ramco Masonry, Inc.
·College Of San Mateo Science Building & Planetarium, San Mateo, Calif., Concrete Contractor: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
·John Ross Condominiums, Portland, Ore., Concrete Contractor: Hoffman Structures
·Symantec Research Campus, Culver City, Calif., Concrete Contractor: Webcor Concrete.

Residential Award Finalists:
·400 Beach Drive Condominiums, St. Petersburg, Fla., Concrete Contractor: Opus South Contractors
·Boca Raton Luxury Condominiums, Las Vegas, Nev., Concrete Contractor: Martin-Harris Construction
·Sandpearl Resort & Hotel, Clearwater Beach, Fla., Concrete Contractor: Hickman Structures
·Turnberry Towers, East & West, Las Vegas, Nev., Concrete Contractor: Turnberry & Associates

Infrastructure Award Finalists:
·Chapman University Sports Complex Parking Structure, Orange, Calif., Concrete Contractor: Bomel Construction
·Nevada Department of Transportation - Blue Diamond Interchange, Las Vegas, Nev., Concrete Contractor: Las Vegas Paving Corporation ·Peace River Water Plant Expansion, Arcadia, Fla., Concrete Contractor: Encore Construction
·Port Of Houston Bayport Container Yard, La Porte, Texas, Concrete Contractor: Zachary Construction

Institutional/Industrial Award Finalists:
·AnMed Health Campus, Anderson, S.C., Concrete Contractor: Cherokee Masonry
·Miami Valley Hospital, Bellbrook, Ohio, Concrete Contractor: Dugan and Myers, Danis Building Construction Company
·Progress Energy Plaza, St. Petersburg, Fla., Concrete Contractor: Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC
·Renown Regional Medical Center, Reno, Nev., Concrete Contractor: Clark & Sullivan Constructors

For complete details of the finalists' projects, please contact the Communications Department at CEMEX USA.

CEMEX received 73 submissions to compete for the best projects in the U.S. from builders, architects and engineers. The winners were selected by five U.S. architects: Dr. Harvey Bryan, an AIA Fellow and professor of architecture and design at Arizona State University; Marley Carroll, an AIA Fellow and Senior Principal at Odell Associates, Inc. in Charlotte, N.C.; Jerry Regenbogen, a landscape and urban architect where he is Principal of the landscape architecture group at Stantec Consulting Ltd., in Charlotte, N.C.; Marcos F. Ibargüen, a LEED accredited professional where he leads the Commercial Architecture program in the Tampa, Fla., office of Reynolds, Smith and Hills; Derek Vander Ploeg, Principal of Vander Ploeg & Associates, Inc., in Boca Raton, Fla., an AIA member and architect in planning, building design, construction and real estate development for public and private sectors.

CEMEX is a growing global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world. For more than 100 years, CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through its efforts to pursue innovative industry solutions and efficiency advancements and to promote a sustainable future. For more information, visit www.cemexusa.com.

Contact Information:

Manager of External Communications
Jennifer Borgen
713-650-6200
Jenniferh.borgen@cemex.com