Spreading the Word: Celebrating Builders’ Excellence
While industry associations are common across any number of sectors, and their equity occasionally comes into question, those on the outside do not always have the opportunity to hear of the successes celebrated within an industry and those who make them happen. One such association and its members is the Canadian Home Builders’ Association - Alberta, who recently gathered at their annual BUILD 2014 Annual Conference to focus on the past, present, and future—and to celebrate the success of volunteers, builders, and renovators.
Beyond the importance of celebrating these achievements within the industry, the Awards of Excellence in Housing are noteworthy to those outside of the industry: in particular, homebuyers. These awards recognize those builders who go above and beyond—those builders who have achieved excellence in categories ranging from safety to customer satisfaction, from single family to multi-family, from estate homes to builder of the year awards, and finally for those who are building sustainably. All in, there were 69 finalists spanning 23 individual categories this year.
While many of the finalists are BUILT GREEN® members, those in the Green Home Award category included Landmark Homes and Homes by Avi Group of Companies. The former, Landmark Homes, won this category with their Emerald II model in the Sparrow Landing community. Their commitment to sustainability sets a standard for others to aspire and is based on sound business principles, economics, and progressive thinking. With a view to building sustainable communities, their focus is on educating, inspiring, and motivating homeowners and other builders to make sustainability not just a priority, rather, to lead a revolution in housing construction.
Like all of Landmark Homes’ builds, homeowners enjoy a reduction in monthly operating costs with water, electricity, and gas bills, mortgage insurance rebates, a longer life home with lower maintenance costs, and an increase in market share and resale value. For more information on these savings visit: www.builtgreencanada.ca/living-green. As with Landmark Homes, all BUILT GREEN® builders are able to pass these savings on to their customers.
Landmark Homes' progressive approach to building led to the development of the Landmark Precision Building System—an innovation unto itself. The system is a fully-computerized process that minimizes human error. Automating key aspects of the building process and centralizing production allows Landmark Homes to lower materials waste and speed up construction. And for those interested in visiting the plant, they welcome tours, which may be booked through their website http://www.landmarkgroup.ca/lbs/
Homes by Avi Group of Companies, a finalist in the Green Home Award was also recognized as the 2014 Multi-Family Builder of the Year. The Avi Urban division has redefined multi-family development, consistently pushing the boundaries on what multi-family developments can be—from live/work developments in the inner city, street-oriented row housing in exclusive neighbourhoods and large scale, multi-phase townhome developments.
Homes by Avi Group of Companies, like other BUILT GREEN® builders work with the homebuyer to determine which green features the customer would like to include in their home—it is now choices around granite counter tops, hardwood floors and a variety green elements that may be integrated into the home.
Hats off to the Canadian Home Builders’ Association – Alberta for celebrating excellence in residential housing.