Hawks Nest was the big winner at the 2015 Construction Achievements and Renovations of Excellence (CARE) Awards of Vancouver Island, which were announced last week.
The annual competition, hosted by the Victoria Residential Builders Association, showcases the best sustainable West Coast design and construction projects by its members, which include more than 275 builders, renovators, designers, trades and suppliers from Vancouver Island.
Every year, the association invites submissions in 50 building and renovation categories. The categories range from Best Single Family Detached Custom Home to Best Interior.
“The homes reflect the best of West Coast living and style,” said Casey Edge, executive director of the association. “People from across the country move here for the outdoors. The winning designs both fit well with their surroundings as well as successfully introducing elements of the outdoors into the home.”
More than 50 awards were presented at the event last Saturday. Hawks Nest, a project by KB Design and Jason Powell Construction, feathered its nest with five gold awards:
• Best Single Family Detached Home over $1 million
• Best Home Design
• Best Interior — Residential over 4,000 sq. ft.
• Best Custom Millwork 2,000 to 5,000 sq. ft.
• Project of the Year — Single Family.
Other multiple gold winners included Abstract Developments, Christopher Developments, Concert Real Estate Corporation, Gorter Construction Ltd., Homewood Constructors Ltd., Jason Good Custom Cabinets, Jenny Martin Design, Limona Group, Parsi Development Ltd., R. Parsons Construction Ltd., South Shore Cabinetry, The Sky is the Limit Design, Thomas Philips Woodworking, Three Sixty Degree Construction Ltd., Verity Construction and Zebra Design.
Retirement Community, a Campbell River project by Denford Construction Management Ltd., was the winning Project of the Year — Multi-Family,
The entries are judged on criteria including unique design, function, creative use of space, compatibility with the environment, energy efficiency, effective land use and cost. Out of-town judges are used to ensure impartiality.
While most of the people judging the projects are experts and respected peers in the industry, the public also had an opportunity to cast votes over the summer for their favourite in the People’s Choice Award.
This year, the project that captured the public’s fancy was Moderne, a renovation by Urban Core Ventures of a house designed by the late P.L. James.
The coveted Green Builder of the Year was awarded to the Limona Group in recognition for its sustainable building practices.
“The CARE Awards is Canada’s premier event celebrating the very best in West Coast homes and the people behind them,” Edge said. “That’s what we do — and we do it the best in the country.”
The Victoria Residential Builders Association, which hosts the annual awards, advocates for the professional building industry on issues such as mandatory education, training and a uniform building code. The non-profit association was incorporated in 1940. Pictures of the gold winners are online at careawards.ca.