The 2013 awards ceremony for the BC Chapter of the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada (AWMAC) recognized a number of local companies for excellence in the design, manufacture and supply of architectural woodwork.
“Architectural woodwork is often done under difficult conditions, when the timetable gets squeezed and there are a lot of people working and a lot of things happening at the last minute,” said Martin Berryman, vice president of AWMAC BC Office. “I am always amazed at the ability of our members to do really difficult work under these conditions.”
Berryman made this comment at the 23rd annual AWMAC BC Awards of Excellence ceremony, which were held at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre on Sept. 12.
He illustrated this point by getting 300 people to stand up and do the chicken dance in a relatively tight space full of tables and chairs.
The group of members and guests included architects, designers, general contractors, specification writers and suppliers.
A total of 16 awards were handed out for excellence in service and quality in five different categories: export, residential, large commercial, small commercial and architect/designer.
“When you talk to the awards judges, they will tell you that every year it gets more difficult to pick a winner, because the work is excellent and keeps getting better every year,” said Berryman.
The main criteria for excellence in service is to identify member firms who demonstrate superior service and performance in the supply and installation of architectural woodwork.
In addition, firms need to demonstrate they can supply and install work of the very highest quality.
The winner of the Ed Fielder Award for overall excellence in quality and service on a large commercial project (more than $250,000) went to Morinwood Inc. for the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Vancouver.
The architect/designer is Hughes Condon Marler and Saucier + Perrotte, while Ledcor is the general contractor.
The gold award for excellence in quality was given to Feature Millwork for Boffo Developments’ office. The architect designer is Group 5 Design Associates and the general contractor is Boffo Developments.
Fraser Valley Industries won the gold award for excellence in service for the Abbotsford Collegiate School.
“I didn’t expect it, because the competition was really big this year,” said Marta Heyde, chief estimator with Fraser Valley Industries. “It was a real surprise for me. I have seen so many beautiful jobs out there.”
The architect designer is CHP Architects and the general contractor is Unitech Construction Management.
Heyde said the project was the biggest job the company has undertaken and the main challenge was the finished carpentry, the ceilings and the custom work.
The Ed Fielder award for Excellence in quality and service on a large commercial project went to Morinwood for the UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences Building.
The winner of the Ed Russell Award for overall excellence in quality and service on a small commercial project (less than $250,000) went to Top 40 Woodworks for Lululemon Athletica in Metrotown.
The architect/designer is Alison Janzen and the general contractor is Pan-Dar Management and Consulting.
Top 40 Woodwork also won the gold award for excellence in quality for the same project.
“Top 40 are relatively new AWMAC BC members, and the fact that in this short time they have proven themselves by winning such a major award speaks highly of their firm, and once again shows that this association is not a closed door old boy’s club,” said Berryman. “This level of excellence reflects the high level of performance that you can expect from AWMAC BC manufacturer members.”
Top 40 Woodworks have been in business since 1992, but joined AWMAC BC more recently in 2007.
Seagull Enterprises won the gold award for excellence in service for the Mozilla Office in Vancouver. The architect designer is Hughes Condon Marler Architects and the general contractor is Harmony Pacific Projects.
The Guarantee and Inspection Service (GIS) award, presented by Jim Taylor, went to joint winners Apollo Industries Ltd. and JSV Architectural Veneering and Millwork Inc.
Taylor also received the Above and Beyond award.
“Jim is involved in a lot of things and that is why he also got the Above and Beyond award,” said Berryman. “He has won this award five times, which speaks to his lifetime of service to the association and dedication to bettering the industry.”
The Above and Beyond Award recognizes personal dedication to the association from one of its members.
Recently, Taylor helped produce an architectural woodwork standards manual. These standards are used as a reference for clients in the GIS program and it provides assurance there are universally accepted conventions for manufacturers in terms of quality and techniques.
The award for the top third and fourth year students in BCIT’s Joinery Program went to Tyler Simpson of Starline Cabinets and Dominic Garzitto of Mosaic Millwork respectively.
The award for the winner of the AWMAC BC Apprenticeship Contest was given to Calvin Patterson of Apollo Industries. The event is held each year at BCIT. The winning cabinet from each chapter goes to the national contest for judging in early May.
The Kwantlen Polytechnic University Award for Design recognizes excellence by a student in the Interior Design Program went to Megan McNee.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed