Hensel Phelps will showcase its design-build capabilities and project experience at the 2026 Design-Build Conference & Expo, scheduled for Nov. 4-6 in Cleveland, Ohio. The event will bring together owners, designers, engineers, contractors and other construction professionals focused on collaborative project delivery.
The conference program is expected to address artificial intelligence, Virtual Design + Construction (VDC), workforce development, leadership and lessons learned from projects across the country.
Five Hensel Phelps projects will receive 2026 National Design-Build Project/Team Awards of Merit during the conference. The portfolio covers aviation, healthcare and educational facilities.
The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Alaska North Main Terminal Redevelopment used progressive design-build delivery while airport operations continued. The project involved passenger processing, security, baggage handling, building systems and seismic improvements.
The University of Washington Interdisciplinary Engineering Building provides 72,000 square feet of learning, research and instructional space across 10 academic departments. The project team worked within an active campus environment and generated more than $700,000 in project savings.
In Southern California, the UCI Health – Irvine medical campus includes 1.085 million square feet of healthcare facilities, including a 144-bed acute care hospital, ambulatory care space and an all-electric central utility plant.
The UC San Diego Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood combines student housing, academic facilities, dining, wellness resources and student services. The project required coordination among university stakeholders, designers, builders, trade partners and VDC teams within an active campus setting.
The fifth recognized project, San Francisco International Airport’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1, involved the transformation of a 900,000-square-foot terminal under a $1.5 billion program. Progressive design-build supported complex phasing while airport operations continued.
Hensel Phelps will also highlight technology used to support design-build delivery, including VDC, artificial intelligence, machine learning, laser scanning, digital twins and visualization.
VDC applications connect project data and digital models with field execution, supporting coordination from early planning through turnover. Reality capture and laser scanning provide detailed existing-condition information for planning and construction coordination.
The company is also exploring AI and machine learning to help project teams interpret project data and support decision-making. Digital twins and visualization tools provide additional methods for connecting construction information with commissioning and long-term facility operations.
The projects heading to the DBIA conference illustrate how integrated delivery models are being applied across complex airport, healthcare and higher education work. The combination of collaborative planning and digital technologies also demonstrates the growing role of shared project information in coordinating construction while facilities remain operational.
For owners and project teams, these approaches can be particularly relevant on large capital programs where phasing, stakeholder coordination, existing conditions and evolving requirements must be managed throughout delivery.
Source: Hensel Phelps.
