Allen Associates has been named a 2012 Contractor of the Year (CotY) Awards winner by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for one of its recently completed projects.
This prestigious, national awards program recognizes builders who have demonstrated outstanding work through their remodeling projects. Allen Associates won the award in the Residential Exterior Over $100,000 category.
The award-winning project — designed by Kirk Gradin with Banyan Architects — took a cramped, existing patio space perched on a very steep slope on the Santa Barbara Riviera and turned it into a stunning outdoor area perfect for entertaining, relaxing and enjoying sunsets over the Pacific Ocean.
The completed project includes an infinity edge spa, outdoor kitchen, a built-in fire pit and fountain with retaining walls and patios clad with local sandstone interlaced with tile accents. All of this work required a matrix of hillside structural concrete, in some of the worst expansive soil in the area. With limited access and steep hillside conditions, this project presented an extremely unique and challenging situation. Hard work and attention to detail by all of the trades brought this beautiful patio together.
“We are honored to receive this recognition. Competition for the CotY Awards is extremely tough and we were competing with companies from across the country,” said Bryan Henson, president at Allen Associates. “We have received regional CotY Awards in the past, but this is the first time our company has won at the national level. Allen Associates is committed to remodeling with the best quality in the Santa Barbara area and these awards reflect that.”
Founded in 1983, Allen Associates provides custom home building and remodeling services in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The company is known for its expertise in green building practices.
To be considered for a CotY Award, a company must be a NARI member in good standing. The entries in this year’s competition totaled $90 million worth of remodeling projects. NARI members represent an elite group of the approximately 800,000 companies and individuals in the United States identifying themselves as remodelers.
NARI is a professional association whose members voluntarily subscribe to a strict code of ethics. Consumers may wish to search NARIRemodelers.com to find a qualified professional who is a member of NARI.
Contractors from seven regions nationwide vie for the awards on an annual basis. All projects submitted for judging were an improvement or an addition to an existing structure, with the exception of one category, “Residential Exterior Specialty.” Otherwise, new construction projects were not eligible.
The projects entered were completed between July 1, 2010, and Nov. 30, 2011, and were not submitted in prior NARI national contests. An impartial panel of judges, who are experts within the industry and associated fields, selected winners based on each entrant’s binders, which include “before and after” photography and project descriptions. Judging focused on problem solving, functionality, aesthetics, craftsmanship, innovation, degree of difficulty and entry presentation.
— Karen Feeney is the green resources manager for Allen Associates.
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