Hawkeye Honored with Excellence in Concrete Award for Student-Built Net-Zero Energy Home

Sustainable Construction Students Receive Statewide Concrete Award

Hawkeye Community College's Sustainable Construction and Design program has been recognized with a 2025 Excellence in Concrete Award from the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association (IRMCA). The award was presented on November 6 during the Iowa Better Concrete Conference in Ames, celebrating the innovative work of Hawkeye students and faculty on a newly constructed single-family home in Waterloo.

The annual Excellence in Concrete Awards acknowledge the most outstanding concrete projects in Iowa, evaluating entries on architectural design, engineering and construction challenges, project complexity and uniqueness, workmanship, final appearance, and creative application of ready mixed concrete.

Hawkeye received top recognition in the New Single Family Home category for a four-bedroom, three-bath ranch-style home at 1229 W. 7th Street. Built by Hawkeye's Sustainable Construction and Design students, the home showcases the program's commitment to hands-on learning, sustainable building practices, and community impact. Manatt's, Inc. of Waterloo served as the ready mixed concrete producer.

The project marks the second home in Hawkeye's long-term initiative to build a city block of net-zero energy homes — a forward-thinking effort to improve energy efficiency, demonstrate advanced building technologies, and provide students with real-world construction experience. The home features Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction for all exterior walls, from the basement footings to the roofline. This approach delivers exceptional thermal performance, durability, and resilience while reducing long-term energy consumption.

Beyond construction, the program prioritizes outreach and education, helping homeowners, builders, and community members understand the long-term advantages of ICF and the broader applications of ready mixed concrete as a complete building envelope — not just a foundation or flatwork material.

The award-winning home was featured in the Cedar Valley Parade of Homes September 12–13, 2025, and is currently listed for sale through Amy Wienands and AWRE, EXP Realty, LLC.

Learn more about the Sustainable Construction and Design program