The winner of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) 2025 Outstanding Project Award (OPA) is the Lyrik - Air Rights Parcel 12 in Boston, submitted by Haley & Aldrich. The award will be presented at DFI's 50th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in Nashville, Tennessee, October 20–23.

This is the first successful air rights project constructed over the Massachusetts Turnpike/Interstate I-90 in 40 years, and building over an operating highway and rail line created many foundation design and construction challenges.

Construction included a 20-story office building over a two-level, below-grade parking garage; a 13-story hotel, retail and restaurant space; a relocated westbound I-90 access ramp; a new headhouse for subway access; and an elevated park.

Haley & Aldrich worked with the project team to design a unique hybrid deep foundation system using every tool in the deep foundation toolbox. The foundation system included rock-socketed micropiles, drilled shafts and load-bearing elements, driven piles, a secant pile wall, concrete diaphragm (slurry) wall, soldier pile and lagging walls, and internal and external bracing (tiebacks).

Overcoming the geotechnical design and construction challenges associated with site conditions and project constraints required thoughtful and creative problem solving, design excellence, careful monitoring and safe construction practice by the entire team to achieve the project goals and realise such a successful outcome.

Other DFI corporate members who contributed to the foundation design and construction include foundation subcontractors Trevi ICOS Corporation (Secant Pile Wall) and Keller North America and GeoEngineers (Enabling Work Design).

This year's OPA runner-up is Engineering Heritage: Integrating North America's Largest Façade Retention System with Support of Excavation in the United Building Project, submitted by Green Infrastructure Partners. Before the inception of this project, a façade retention system of 10 stories was unprecedented in the industry. This led to the development of a sophisticated hybrid support system that integrated the façade retention system with the support of excavation system to meet the project's complex requirements.

Established in 1997, the OPA recognises the superior work of DFI members. A committee selects the projects based on size, scope and challenges of the project; degree of innovation and ingenuity exercised; and uniqueness of the solution to the difficulties of the job.