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SALT LAKE CITY — Two Jacobsen Construction project teams were presented with prestigious awards from Utah Construction & Design at the magazine’s 13th annual awards gala on Thursday at the Little America Hotel.
Jacobsen’s winning projects were:
Utah State University Kem & Carolyn Gardner Learning & Leadership Building | Most Outstanding Green/Sustainable Project
Wavetronix Springs | Most Outstanding Commercial/Office Project
In a speech accepting the sustainability award on behalf of Utah State, Frank Caliendo, associate dean of the Huntsman School of Business, thanked the “dream team” of Jacobsen and MHTN Architects for successfully realizing the university’s vision for the Gardner Learning & Leadership Building.
“We’re so thrilled with this building,” Caliendo said. “These are deeply good people (on the project team). I’ve learned so much about business ethics, keeping your word, professionalism, integrity and perseverance. I would take a bullet for this team. I love them and they’re friends for life.”
Scott Jensen, chief architect at Wavetronix, said in his award acceptance speech that the company’s new headquarters was designed and built as a place to support the priorities of not only employees but their family members as well.
“The thing that made this all work is that we had incredible team put together with FFKR Architects and Jacobsen Construction,” Jensen said. “We appreciate all their hard work.”
With these wins, Jacobsen project teams have now won 10 awards in commercial office building categories, as well as six awards for sustainability, from various industry organizations in the past 10 years.
Both of Jacobsen’s 2025 Most Outstanding Projects award winners are described in more detail below.
Utah State University Kem & Carolyn Gardner Learning & Leadership Building
Design team: MHTN Architects
Owner: Utah State University
Logan, Utah
The Utah State University Kem & Carolyn Gardner Learning and Leadership Building is a 44,658-square-foot, three-story LEED Silver facility located on the southern edge of campus.
This key campus addition strengthens the Huntsman School of Business by bringing five academic centers under one roof: the Analytics Solutions Center, Huntsman Scholar Program, Covey Leadership Center, Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Hive.
The Kem and Carolyn Gardner Learning and Leadership Building is helping Utah State business students prepare for their careers by closely matching the way professional office buildings are used for team-based collaboration and problem solving. Flexible, technology-rich workspaces and team areas are a point of emphasis throughout the building.
The hybrid steel and mass timber structure type — the first of its kind on campus — anchors the building’s character, providing a warm, biophilic atmosphere. The building is already being used as a recruiting and fundraising tool for the Huntsman School of Business, which frequently leads tours of the facility for prospective students and major donors.
The university is also regularly inviting Utah-based companies to use the Gardner Learning & Leadership Building to connect with students, partner with them on real-world business opportunities and recruit them to promising jobs. This makes the building a potent gateway of opportunity for students as they look for ways to start their career on the right foot.
Wavetronix Springs
Design team: FFKR Architects
Owner: Wavetronix
Springville, Utah
Wavetronix, one of Utah’s most unique and successful tech firms, radically elevated the employee experience with its new corporate campus in Springville.
Wavetronix designs and manufactures innovative sensor technologies that improve traffic on the world’s roads and is known for investing heavily in its people. With that business ethos in mind, the company set out to build a new headquarters that is not at all like a traditional corporate campus. They wanted their campus, called Wavetronix Springs, to open its doors to the community as opposed to being isolated and inwardly focused.
Wavetronix Springs emulates the welcoming design qualities of historical small town centers found throughout the United States — such as a tight grid of narrow streets, brick facades and a town square that the various buildings face toward — while also incorporating world-class amenities and modern spaces to promote productivity, personal growth and professional development.
The Foundry was the first building completed at Wavetronix Springs. Level one consists of manufacturing, warehouse and office space with meeting rooms. The manufacturing area is a double-height space that is enhanced with skylights to give every employee a sense of what is happening outdoors. Level two has office space and meeting rooms.
On the west side of Wavetronix Springs is the second building: a three-story steel brace frame and brick building with a 72-foot-tall integrated tower. It is an office space that capably doubles as an event space for special company and community occasions and also includes a full-service onsite cafe.
Inspired by the company’s dedicated people, Wavetronix Springs was built as a holistic workplace that reflects the organization’s values, history and plans for long-term growth. With a focus on open environments, collaboration and experiential design, this campus is sure to inspire the company’s innovators for generations to come.