Rudolph/Libbe Wins 2012 Build Ohio Award

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Rudolph/Libbe Inc. has been honored with a prestigious 2012 Build Ohio Award for its work on the new Lake High School in Wood County. The awards were announced on Nov. 16, 2012, by the AGC of Ohio in Columbus.

The project won top honors in the category of New Construction over $20 million. The company served as design/build contractor for Lake High School. The Collaborative Inc. (TCI) of Toledo was chosen as the bridging design architect, and TMP Architecture, Inc. of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. was the architect of record.

The Lake High School project was, unofficially, Ohio’s first construction reform project, using the design/build delivery method. This project delivery process was permitted under an urgent necessity provision for construction in an emergency situation.

Construction began in April 2011, but the project truly began June 5, 2010, when a killer tornado destroyed most of the existing high school. Rudolph/Libbe Inc. responded within an hour after the storm to assess damage to the high school. A full crew mobilized before dawn the next day to begin securing the site and cleaning up debris.

School officials wanted the new 144,980-sq-ft high school ready for students in July 2012.

Under the construction management delivery system, they would have waited three years or longer to obtain occupancy. However, the design/build delivery method gave school officials the high-tech, cost-efficient high school they wanted in 15 months.

"We’re pleased to receive this recognition for our work on the Lake High School project," said Tim Alter, president of Rudolph/Libbe Inc. "We had a great client in Lake Local Schools. We also had outstanding people – the project team, craftspeople, subcontractors and suppliers – providing the skill, dedication and hard work that are integral to a successful project. It’s an honor to have worked on a building which means so much to our community and serves as an example of the importance of Ohio Construction Reform to the owners of public improvement projects."

In 2011, Ohio Governor Kasich signed House Bill 153, which included the first changes in the state’s method of performing public construction in over 134 years. These changes, known as Ohio Construction Reform or OCR, will substantially change how public improvement projects are completed and will permit the use of alternative construction delivery methods.

Ohio Construction Reform retains the current multiple-prime design-bid-build project delivery method, but gives public owners other construction options that are faster, involve less risk and provide greater flexibility and most important, lower cost. Ohio Construction Reform includes the design/build delivery method which was used to construct Lake High School.

About Rudolph/Libbe Companies
The Rudolph/Libbe Companies is among the region’s largest contractors, and employs nearly 1,500 construction trades associates, with offices in Toledo, Walbridge, Lima and Cleveland, Ohio, and Plymouth, Michigan.