Windjammer, a 3,000 square-foot waterfront home, sailed away with the most booty at the 2014 Construction Achievements and Renovations of Excellence (CARE) Awards last month. The single-family construction project, built by Terry Johal Developments, captured six Gold CARE Awards, including the coveted Project of the Year and People’s Choice Award.
A total of 48 awards was presented at the ceremony, which was attended by 220 members of the Victoria Residential Builders Association and held at the Fairmont Empress Hotel ballroom. The local group represents builders, renovators, designers, trades and suppliers active in the local construction industry.
“Winning at the CARE Awards is something we value,” said Terry Johal, 37, president of the company that bears his name. “But to win both the Project of the Year and the People’s Choice Award is truly special.”
Windjammer took home gold in six categories:
• Best Single Family Detached Custom Home 2,500-3,500 sq. ft.
• Best Landscape
• Best Interior, Residential, 2,800-4,000 sq. ft.
• Best Custom Millwork, 2,800-4,000 sq. ft.
• Project of the Year
• People's Choice Award
Johal said that the clean styling of the three-bedroom, four-bathroom, two-storey house clearly resonated with voters. Many of the entries this year have favoured a more modern, contemporary style with large windows and minimal decorative trim.
“We wanted to create something that was opulent but not overdone,” Johal said.
The main constraint in the layout of the house was that, because it had to fit onto an existing city lot in Fairfield, it could not exceed nine metres wide.
A seafaring theme was chosen early on, with the idea of giving occupants the sense of living on a luxury yacht. To reinforce the nautical theme, in some of the rooms the picture windows are built on a slant to minimize the reflection of the sun off the ocean.
Materials were chosen with an eye toward durability from the constant exposure to the salt air and seasonal winds.
This unusual project was not alone in taking home the gold.
Other multiple winners included the Città Group, Coast Prestige Homes, Jason Good Custom Cabinets, Jenny Martin Design, GT Mann Contracting, Maximilian Huxley Construction, Metropolitan Capital Partners, NZ Builders, The Sky is the Limit Design, Verity Construction and West Coast Contemporary Homes.
Acknowledgment for sustainable West Coast design and construction was also singled out.
The Green Builder of the Year — Large Volume was awarded to Verity Construction while NZ Builders won the Green Builder of the Year — Small Volume award for its innovative concrete construction methods for single-family homes.
“The CARE Awards [presentation] is Canada’s premier event celebrating the finest West Coast projects and the people behind them,” said Casey Edge, executive director of the association.
Every year, the association invites submissions for competition in 48 categories. The building or renovation categories range from Best Single Family Detached Custom Home to Best Interior.
The entries are judged on specific 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 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.
Pictures of the gold winners will be featured online at careawards.ca.