Fox Blocks is proud to announce that the 2020 ICF Builders Awards selected six Fox Block projects as either a winner or 2nd runner-up in several categories. Fox Blocks ICF projects won in the Heavy Commercial, Development, Large Residential, and Speciality Application categories. Fox Blocks ICF projects also took 2nd runner-up in the Large Residential and Heavy Commercial Categories.

The 15th-annual ICF Builder Awards, held in conjunction with the World of Concrete trade show, produced an impressive and expanded list of winners that genuinely represent the best-of-the-best in the ICF industry. The ICF Builder Awards competition showcases the strength and flexibility of ICF, which allows architects to accommodate any home and building designs. The awards also highlight how ICF construction produces energy-efficient, disaster-resistant, durable, and healthy structures. Complexity, site challenges, creativity, and media exposure all factored into deciding which projects earned top honors.

“These are milestone projects that have advanced the entire industry due to their significance and visibility,” says Clark Ricks, editorial director of the ICF magazine and a context judge. “The individuals who design and build these impressive structures are redefining what’s possible with ICF.”

For 2020, organizers of the event had to expand the categories to accommodate the flood of entries due to the expanding growth in the ICF industry. Anyone involved with ICFs could enter their project in the competition; however, the project must have used ICF as the main construction method for the exterior walls. Presentation of the awards occurred in Las Vegas in front of over 200 of the most influential people in the ICF industry, including designers, installers, manufacturers, owners, distributors, and representatives of supplemental ICF products.

The 2020 ICF Builders Awards included seven categories. Each category selected a winner, and a first and second runner-up.

1. Small Residential - 3,000 square feet or less
2. Large Residential - between 3,001 and 6,000 square feet
3. Unlimited Residential - larger than 6,000 square feet
4. Light Commercial - total project cost of less than $5 million (USD)
5. Heavy Commercial - total project cost of more than $5 million (USD)
6. Specialty Applications - pools, retaining walls, landscaping, etc.
7. Multi-Family - duplex, hotels, dormitories, etc.

Fox Blocks Wins Big at the 2020 ICF Builders Awards

The 2020 ICF Builders Awards chose six Fox Block projects as either a winner or 2nd-runner-up in various categories:

Heavy Commercial - Winner

Showbiz Cinema in Homestead, Florida

Axiom Construction utilized Fox Blocks ICF for all the interior and exterior walls (88,100 square feet) of the 75,500-square-foot (floor) ten-screen Showbiz Cinema. Building the cinema with Fox Blocks ICFs hastened production time which lowered construction costs. Fox Blocks produced a theater with excellent sound quality, disaster-resistance, durability, and energy-efficiency.

ICF installation for the Showbiz Cinema took 100 days. Total construction time took 60 weeks for a cost of $12.5 million.

Heavy Construction 2nd Runner-Up

Saugeen Police HQ – Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada

Allen-Hastings, Ltd. utilized 11,600 square feet of Fox Blocks ICF to build the 15,000-square-foot (floor) Saugeen Police Headquarters. It took only 35 days for R. VandenBroek Construction, Ltd. to place the ICF and 52 weeks to complete the $6.8 million project.

Worth noting, Fox Blocks ICF saved the builder 12 weeks on the schedule. Moreover, Fox Blocks ICF police stations provide a safe, healthy, and quiet environment for our first responders. In addition, the energy-efficient, durable, and low-maintenance police stations save their municipalities money by lowering long-term costs.

Development - Winner

Hazeldean Gardens Retirement Center in Stittsville, Ontario, Canada

Hazeldean Retirement Center chose Fox Blocks ICF for most of the interior walls of their 5-story 122,500-square-foot (floor) senior retirement center - total cost CAN $40 million. It took just 220 days to install 96,700 square feet of ICF and 95 weeks to complete the entire project.

Fox Blocks ICF is an excellent product for a retirement center because it creates a safe, quiet, and healthy environment for the staff and senior residents. Energy-efficient and durable ICF also saves the building owners money by minimizing long- term expenses, and the quick and easy installation of ICF construction reduces contractors time and money.

Large Residential - Winner

Afton Home in Afton, VA

ICF Homes of Virginia, LLC, used the Fox Blocks ICF wall system to construct a 4,500-square-foot (floor) custom home in Afton, VA. It took Oliff Construction only 20 days to install 7,950 square feet of ICF, while total construction took 52 weeks.

Fox Block ICFs ensured this homeowner an energy-efficient, disaster-resistant, and healthy house that will provide safety and comfort to the family for years to come.

Large Residential 2nd Runner-Up

Hurricane Harvey Rebuild – Rockport, TX

Dennison Custom Homes installed 6,700 square feet of Fox Blocks ICF to construct this 4,400-square-foot (floor) custom home in Rockport, TX. The house replaces a home destroyed in 2017 by Hurricane Harvey, a category 4 storm. One reason the owners chose Fox Blocks was that it has the strength and resistance to stand up to the heavy winds and flying debris of a category 5 storm.

Fox Blocks meets the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA 320 and FEMA 361 guidelines in storm zones with wind speeds up to 250 miles per hour. Fox Blocks ICF also has the strength and mass to resist the impact of wind-driven debris at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour.

Specialty Application - Winner

Ranch House Pool in Mathis, TX

Shayne Schroeder Custom Homes installed 380 square feet of Fox Blocks ICF to create this 350-square-foot (floor) above ground swimming pool.

ICF provides a superior pool product, over concrete, because ICF furnishes continuous insulation (CI) on the interior, exterior, and bottom of the pool. CI reduces heat loss and helps to stabilize the pool's temperature. In fact, ICF pools lessen energy costs( over concrete pools) by nearly 60 percent. Also, because ICF maintains a pool's temperature (compared to concrete pools), it can lengthen the pool season over that of concrete pools.

Please contact Fox Blocks professionals for information on how Fox Blocks can help your next product achieve all the benefits of ICF construction: disaster-resistance, energy-efficiency, healthy, quiet, and environmentally friendly. The fast and simple installation of Fox Blocks can save contractors and owners time and money during the building process.