FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Newcomers make noise in Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association’s design awards
There’s an interesting diversity developing in Ottawa’s housing and design community that makes for a refreshing collection of entries in this year’s Housing Design Awards.
Much like the rookies are changing the face of the Ottawa Senators as the team rebuilds, the newcomers and sophomores entering the city’s largest housing awards in recent years means that industry veterans cannot guarantee their projects will easily make it through as finalists. And that has served to add a fresh perspective on the Ottawa design scene.
Put on by the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GO HBA), the housing awards mark their 35th anniversary this year with a glitzy gala in stone and gold Saturday night at the Shaw Centre. About 500 are expected to attend the awards dinner, where trophies in 57 categories will be given out among 184 finalists in categories ranging from production and custom homes to kitchens, bathrooms, housing details and exterior spaces.
“It’s important for the public to have the Housing Design Awards to point to or refer to, to get a good idea of what the standard of excellence in residential construction and renovation is in the Greater Ottawa area,” said GOHBA executive director Jason Burggraaf. “The awards recognize all price points and all housing types, all kinds of renovation projects, so there’s something for everyone.”
Linda Oliveri Blanchard, who has chaired the awards committee for 12 years, is such a fan of the event and the several hundred companies that are part of the association that she took time to answer emailed questions while honeymooning in Europe. She echoed Burggraaf’s comments, adding that those “who follow our awards will find the best of the best in our industry and we hope it helps them in their selection of professionals.”
This year’s entries skewed contemporary, as they have trended in recent years, but there was still plenty of room for more traditional projects to shine.
What really stood out was the high calibre of projects, interesting use of materials and clever design solutions.
“There’s some really creative work being done,” said Chris Lemke of Alloy Homes in Calgary, who was one of 12 judges from related industries across the country to independently assess 267 entries to determine the 184 finalists.
A native of Ottawa who returns regularly to visit family, Lemke is encouraged by the direction here toward more complete communities that combine the idea of live, work and play.
“It’s a different city than it was when I grew up.”
Of the six judges who offered their thoughts on the entries, all were impressed by the projects.
“There’s some pretty cool stuff in there,” said Dallas Stobbe, owner of Haven Builders in Saskatoon and one of the judges who made a point of noting the diversity in designs, which is something he appreciates.
“I really don’t like it when you can go to an area of town and everything looks very similar.”
While they didn’t all note similar trends — some judged renovations, while others judged kitchens and bathrooms, for instance — they all picked up on various key elements that stood out.
RISE OF COLOUR
“Colour is coming back,” said judge Alana Loranger of Towne & Countree Kitchens in Edmonton. “People are doing colourful cabinets.”
While there are still plenty of white kitchens, she finds the injection of colour refreshing.
“Grey and white have been on trend for so long that I think people are … craving colour, especially in Canada. Our winters are so long and when you’re surrounded by the grey and the white outside, it’s nice to have some sort of injection of colour in your living space.”
But Chris Hewett felt the entries used minimal colour palettes. The only local judge and back for his 12th year, the Algonquin College architecture professor judged kitchens and bathrooms, along with his usual categories of green entries.
“We saw a lot of white marble with black veining in it.… That’s what grabbed your eye, this movement in the material with the white cabinets,” he said, although he does note that “some of these kitchens did have little accents (of colour).”
GEOMETRICS ARE STILL BIG
Patterns and geometrics — particularly in tile — remain popular, as they have been for the last few years. They popped up in several entries.
“Lines are very important,” said Loranger, who encourages homeowners to “have fun with shapes. And even if it’s monochromatic, you can still play with the lines.”
FOCUS ON THE CEILING
More than one judge commented on the variety in ceiling treatments, from coffered to wood beam accents and vaulted spaces.
“There are some really cool architectural ceiling details with custom exposed wood ceilings (and) some pretty dramatic vaults out there as well,” said Cory Saran of boutique builder The Forge Group of Companies in White Rock, B.C.
Hewett also noted the ceiling treatments. “There were a couple of them where you walk in and you’re fully immersed in the design.… You felt wrapped in the conscious thought of the space.”
RETURN OF THE LIBRARY
A bit surprisingly, library spaces turned up in multiple projects, both contemporary and traditional.
“There seems to be a real turn in terms of people going back to wanting to have physical books and it’s almost like a nostalgia thing that’s going on, but it’s definitely a lot of fun,” said Saran.
GIVING BACK
Koen de Waal of De Waal Developments in Edmonton judged the special achievement awards among his categories, in which applicants must fill in a detailed question-and-answer form about their business, their philosophy, their community involvement and more. He pointed out the amount of builder volunteering and initiatives to make changes in the industry, impressed by the efforts.
“I thought that was very inspiring.”
The winners will be announced at the gala Saturday evening.