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Larsen Whelan Enterprises wins two Canadian Home Builders Georgie Awards

The Georgies are widely recognized as the Academy Awards of B.C. home building.
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Kootenay Haven won Larsen Whelen two Georgie awards. Photo supplied by Henri Georgi Kootenay Haven won Larsen Whelen two Georgie awards. Photo supplied by Henri Georgi

Fernie based Construction Company Larsen Whelan Enterprise (LWE) has won two Georgie Awards® for a beautiful home built on the shores of Baynes Lake.

The Georgie Awards® are owned and produced by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of British Columbia (CHBA/BC) and are widely recognized as the Academy Awards of B.C. home building.

The 25th anniversary of the annual awards was held in Vancouver at the Hyatt Regency on March 11. A total of 46 awards were handed out covering a range of industry products, such as condominiums, townhouses, landscaping, kitchens, interior design, sales and marketing and customer satisfaction. A panel of industry professionals from outside the province judged the entries.

LWE won awards for Best Custom Home valued between $1.3 and $1.9 million and Best Certified Custom Home.

“We are extremely proud to have won both of the awards,” said Steve Whelan, co-owner of LWE, in a press release. “Our team works hard and creatively to make our client’s projects come to fruition and winning in both of these categories really showcases that approach.”

In winning the awards, LWE went up against some pretty heavy hitters in the lower mainland but after looking at the competition, LWE knew they had a winner.

“It’s a pretty slick house,” said LWE sales representative Andre Bloemink. “Looking at the other homes in our categories, we were feeling pretty confident.”

Bloemink said the clients have owned the property since the late 1970s. Their old home had been built on a wood foundation but several flood events prompted them to seek an upgrade.

Before constructing the award winning home, LWE lifted and transported the original home down the road to a neighbouring property.

LWE partnered with Pacific Homes, a prefabricated home company, on the project. The home features a modern layout with a butterfly roofline, large windows, big decks and a big kitchen. A clever design allows for direct access to the kitchen from the garage and there is a large front area that looks northeast over the lake.

It is also a very green home. The walls were framed offsite, which minimized waste. Cutting edge insulation and multiple glazes on its doors and windows have made it a very energy efficient structure and it was partially built with reclaimed timbers from old grain elevators.

Design of the home began in 2015 and construction concluded last year.

“It represents a full team effort,” said Bloemink. “There were numerous guys and gals working on this home. It’s pretty special for us.”