The award, which was recently announced at the Michigan Construction and Design Tradeshow in Detroit, was the result of an online voting competition that highlighted 12 projects across the state including Detroit's Greektown Casino and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. More than 6,200 online votes were cast, with CMU receiving nearly 40 percent of the total.
"We are thrilled that our Education and Human Services Building was named as the state's top project," said Kathy Koch, interim dean of CMU's College of Education and Human Services. "This facility represents the future of education through its emphasis on technology in the classroom, teaching spaces that encourage active student engagement, and attention to the importance of our environment as it influences teaching and learning."

The Education and Human Services Building was built by Walsh Construction of Grand Rapids and designed by SHW Group LLC, a Michigan-based architectural and engineering firm known for its collaboration with educators and researchers to design innovative facilities that support the learning process.

Completed in June 2009, the $50-million, four-story, 137,000-square-foot building enhances the learning and classroom atmosphere for thousands of CMU students. The design process began in early 2006 and called for state-of-the-art academic instructional spaces, classrooms, labs, and a child development center.