Jewson has announced the finalists in its first ever Making Better Homes Awards, recognising the champions in the industry who are working hard to create energy efficient, safe and comfortable homes.
After entries closed at the end of 2023, a panel of judges made up of industry specialists assessed all the nominations with the three highest scoring projects in each category making the shortlist.
Going through to the next round in the Best Building Fabric in a Project category are Draper Studio, SIP Build UK and Orka Construction. In the Best Use of Renewable Energy in a Project category, Channel Electrical, Castlethorpe Homes and The Vegan Builder will face the national vote. Finally, competing for the title of Best Sustainable Project of the Year are A Corner of Eden, Greencore Homes and The Holt Group.
The public will now be able to vote online for their favourite shortlisted entrant in each category, with the winners announced at a ceremony later this year.
Sitting on the judging panel were Gavin Crane, CEO for Band of Builders, Nicola De Sousa, Central Director for the Federation of Master Builders, Matthew Handley, Category Innovation Manager at Jewson, and Chris Pearman, Regional Sales Manager at Build Aviator.
Matthew said: “It has been a privilege to judge the first ever Making Better Homes Awards – to say the judges were impressed with the entries is an understatement. Every single project entered demonstrated the steps tradespeople are taking to ensure their customers can enjoy energy efficient properties which will stand the test of time, while making recommendations which also go some way to protecting our planet.
“Judging at this stage of the competition was hard as there were some incredibly inspirational entries, but the public face the hardest step in choosing the winner from each category. It’s a tough one to call and I’m excited to see who the three winners will be.”
Nicola added: “The high calibre of entries to the Making Better Homes Awards is testament to the effort and dedication tradespeople are putting into upskilling themselves in the areas of sustainability and renewables, and proves that as an industry we are making great progress.
“Every entry we saw deserved a place in the shortlist, but the three projects moving onto the next stage in each category really shone and showed us something unique. I can’t wait to see who wins, because they have incredible futures ahead of them.”
Debbie Greaves, founder of The Corner of Eden, said of making the shortlist: “We entered this competition to show that it is possible to bring something amazing to life on a remote island and to overcome the many design, resourcing and logistical challenges along the way. Winning would feel like excellent recognition for our Harris Hideaway project, which we hope will bring so much pleasure to so many people in the future as it continues to blend modern, unique, sustainable design that sits seamlessly in its wild, ancient landscape.”
Chris Warner, Managing Director at Castlethorpe Homes, added: “We entered the awards to help shine a light on the need for more renewable energy being factored into brand new build homes and we feel our entry shows what can be done with great design and thought when building new homes. The use of more renewables in construction is vital if we are going to drive down running costs for the homeowners, especially in these difficult times, embracing the need to show exemplary ways of building but also have a long-term plan to have less impact on our planet.”
The public can now vote online for the winners of the three categories – Best Building Fabric in a Project, Best Use of Renewable Energy in a Project, and Best Sustainable Project of the Year.