CHA Consulting, Inc. (CHA) has received a 2024 ACEC Virginia Honor Award for the transformation of the Sweet Briar College Athletic Complex. This accolade highlights CHA’s dedication to engineering excellence and its role in delivering innovative solutions to enhance athletic infrastructure.
Sweet Briar College’s decision to upgrade its athletic facility—given that over 30 percent of its students participate in athletics—significantly enhances its ability to attract student-athletes across all sports. The new athletic facilities use the latest technology and athletic safety standards to create an all-inclusive facility that is the premier in field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse. The project installed a new water-based field for field hockey and lacrosse, a natural grass field for women’s soccer, new scoreboards, field lighting systems, and improved accessibility for athletes and spectators.
Thayer Field, named in honor of Mildred ‘Bee’ Newman Thayer ’61, is the centerpiece of the college’s athletic facility improvements. Home to Vixens’ field hockey and lacrosse programs, Sweet Briar College’s water-based turf field is only the second of its kind within the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Unlike traditional or other artificial turf options, this field’s innovative design incorporates a thin water layer during play, offering safer and smoother gameplay. It reduces the risk of injuries, enhances ball control, and allows greater freedom of movement while being gentler on players’ joints.
Read more about the Sweet Briar College Athletic Complex.
The Engineering Excellence Awards, considered the “Oscars” of the engineering industry, celebrate the best in engineering. ACEC Virginia recognizes winning projects for their complexity, innovation, societal value, and contribution to the engineering profession.
Award winners were honored at the 2024 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala held on February 15, 2024, at the John Marshall Ballrooms in Richmond, Virginia.
As an Honor award winner, this project was advanced to the National ACEC 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards. It will be honored with a National Recognition Award at the ACEC National Awards Gala on May 15 in Washington, DC.
ACEC Virginia is the largest engineering firm association in the state of Virginia, representing more than 5,000 employees. ACEC Virginia advocates for a positive regulatory and business environment for consulting engineering firms by providing leadership, education, and programmatic support to expand and sustain their businesses. Learn more at ACEC Virginia’s official website.