Announcing the 2015 SIPA Building Excellence Award Winners

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 21, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The 13th Annual Structural Insulated Panel Association Building Excellence Awards were announced Tuesday evening during the association’s 2015 Annual Meeting & Conference in Tucson, Arizona. Winning submissions demonstrated exceptional performance in quantifiable energy efficiency using structural insulated panels (SIPs); design and structural engineering innovation; creative use of SIP construction; and environmental sustainability.

The 2015 winning projects and award recipients are:

The competition’s Overall Winner and winner of the Single Family Homes under 3,000 sq. ft. category is the Cedarwood Zero Energy homesubmitted by Premier SIPs by Insulfoam.  This extremely energy-efficient home achieved a HERS Index of 13, with air infiltration tested at just 0.67 ACH50 by a blower door test—creating a home with exceptional comfort and indoor air quality.

Taking the Overall Competition Runner Up spot was the Park Row Apartments, submitted by Energy Panel Structures.  As the winner of the Multifamily category, these low-income apartments demonstrate how a high performance SIP building envelope can lower utility bills and speed up construction on large-scale multifamily projects.

  • Designer: Energy Panel Structures
  • Builder: Southwest Minnesota Housing Specialists
  • Manufacturer: Energy Panel Structures

The Plattner Farms shop took top honors in the Agricultural category.  At nearly 10,000 sq. ft., the building provides an insulated work area for farm equipment, storage, and office space.  A high-efficiency radiant heating system paired with the SIP walls helps keep utility cost low for the building owners.

  • Submitted by: Energy Panel Structures
  • Designer: B3 Building Solutions, Energy Panel Structures, and building owner
  • Builder: B3 Building Solutions
  • Manufacturer: Energy Panel Structures

In the Commercial Buildings over 10,000 sq. ft. category, the Moffatt Products manufacturing facility claimed the victory.  Sixteen-foot-tall SIP walls were installed as single panels to avoid air leakage.  Other energy-efficient features include a passive solar design and LED lighting with sensors that dim electric lighting when daylight is present.

  • Submitted by: Enercept
  • Designer: Building owner
  • Builder: Feigen Construction
  • Manufacturer: Enercept

The Pizza Ranch in Storm Lake, Iowa was named the winner of the Commercial Buildings under 10,000 sq. ft. category.  Submitted by Energy Panel Structures, the 5,374 sq. ft. restaurant utilized SIP walls to reduce utility cost, downsize heating and cooling equipment, and save on temporary heat during construction.

Production homebuilder Quadrant Homes demonstrated how SIPs and energy efficiency can be incorporated into a modern, high performance design with the Evoke Model Home.  Its 10-inch thick SIP roof and ductless mini-split heat pump system helped the home reach a HERS Index of 63.

All submissions used SIPs for at least 50 percent of the building envelope. To see additional photos and projects that received Honorable Mentions, please visit SIPA’s Building Excellence Awards page.

About SIPA

The Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) is a non-profit association dedicated to increasing the use and acceptance of structural insulated panels (SIPs) in green, high performance building by providing an industry forum for promotion, communication, education, quality assurance, and technical and marketing research. SIPs are a high performance, panelized building system that offers superior thermal performance, air tightness, and durability for energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings.

Builders and design professionals seeking to reduce energy use and minimize the carbon footprint of their buildings utilize SIPs as a cost-effective solution for exterior wall and roof systems that also cuts down on framing time, lessens construction waste, and ensures greater jobsite quality control through prefabrication. SIPs are an enabling technology to meet to the Architecture 2030 Challenge for net-zero carbon neutral buildings today. Learn more at www.sips.org.

Contact:
Jack Armstrong

551-208-8302

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