Fox Blocks proudly announces that the 2021 ICF Builders Awards selected eleven of Fox Blocks projects as either a winner or runner-up in several categories, including five People’s Choice Awards.

The 16th-annual ICF Builder Awards, held via YouTube on January 21, 2021 produced an impressive list of winners, representing the best-of-the-best and celebrating advancements in the ICF industry. The ICF Builder Awards competition showcases ICF's strength and flexibility, allowing architects and builders to accommodate any building and home designs. The awards also highlight how ICF construction creates energy-efficient, disaster-resistant, durable, sustainable, and healthy structures with superior indoor environmental quality (IEQ).

Each ICF Builder Award category selects a winner and two runners-up. Qualifying projects all included ICFs for the exterior walls; however, projects received extra points for using ICF on interior walls, foundations, outbuildings, landscaping, etc.

Judges of the ICF Builder Awards considered ICF use (size, ICF square footage (ft2), and percent of the overall project), construction factors (complexity, creativity, craftsmanship, and site consideration), and design factors (architecture, sustainability, photography, significance to the ICF industry) in determining which projects deserved top honors in every seven categories. The 2021 event added a new category to the contest, the People’s Choice Awards﹘this popular category received 3,775 votes from over 900 individuals.

ICF Builder Awards Categories

• Small Residential: 3,000 ft2 or less

• Large Residential: between 3,001 and 6,000 ft2

• Unlimited Residential: larger than 6,000 ft2

• Specialty Applications: pools, retaining walls, landscaping, etc.

• MultiFamily: duplex, hotels, dormitories, etc.

• Light Commercial: total project cost of less than $5 million (USD)

• Heavy Commercial: total project cost of more than $5 million (USD)

• People’s Choice Awards

Heavy Commercial Winner and People’s Choice Award

Roy Junior High School in Roy, Utah

The Weber School District chose Fox Blocks to build the first ICF school in Utah.

The 173,393 ft2 school utilized 121,217 ft2 of ICF, reducing the construction schedule by eight months and saving $1.2 million from the original budget.

It tookIMS Masonry 150 days (due to delays) to install the ICF. Total construction time was 76 weeks for a cost of $39,850,000.

Heavy Commercial — 2nd Runner-Up

Cinepolis La Costa Town Center in Carlsbad, California

CSI Construction utilized Fox Blocks ICF for all the interior and exterior walls (25,000 ft2) of the 33,368 ft2, 48 high, 8-auditorium luxury movie theater. XL Concrete & Masonry installed 37-feet-tall ICFs in 22 days, hastening production time and lowering construction costs. The ICFs were used on all the exterior walls except the storefront/curtain wall, supporting an open web joist roof structure.

Fox Blocks ICFs produced a theater with excellent sound quality, disaster-resistance, durability, and energy-efficiency. Total construction time took 40 weeks and cost $9,997,007.

Light Commercial 1st Runner-Up

Hell Roaring Ranch in Stanley, Idaho

Andrew Bailey, Bailey Builds constructed this 4,500 ft2 aircraft hanger with 6,000 ft2 of Fox Blocks ICF. The owner chose quick and easy to install Fox Blocks ICF to combat the harsh winter climate and high elevation of this remote location.

The ICF install took 24 days. The $1.1 million structure's total construction time was 30 weeks.

Multi-Family 1st Runner-Up

Island Harbor Club Condos in Gananoque, Ontario

RMP Construction and Development selected Fox Blocks ICF to build their high-efficiency, seven-story 190,387 ft2 multi-unit residential and commercial development, designed by David Chui, ACK Architects, to mimic an old steamship. The development increased the town’s tax revenue, contributing five percent of its revenue and yearly operating budget.

Boreal Construction took 260 days to install 40,988 ft2 ICF, while the total construction, including a 126-car heated indoor garage, was 135 weeks.

Multi-Family 2nd Runner-Up

Habilitation in Kitchener, Ontario

Kitchener-Waterloo Habilitation selected Fox Blocks to build their energy-efficient, low-maintenance, and affordable apartments for low-income and developmentally challenged individuals and families. Fox Blocks ICFs allowed R. Vandenbroek Construction to quickly install, in 20 days, 13,500 ft2 of ICF, vital due to disabilities and sensitivities of the residents.

The simplicity of the building's design allowed Scott Flannery, Melloul-Blamey Construction, to complete the construction of the $5.5 million structure in 52 weeks.

Unlimited Residential 1st Runner-Up

Swaroop Residence in Midlothian, Virginia

Armond Reich, Reich Design Associates designed this 8,000 ft2, three-story with 7,200 ft2 of ICF, double-pane, efilm, high U-value windows, and heavy-gauge metal roof shingles, creating a net-zero-energy home. The Indo-American inspired home sits on a sloped gradient.

Total construction of the family home took 76 weeks at the cost of $1.3 million.

Unlimited Residential 2nd Runner-Up and People’s Choice Winner

Marek Residence in Franklin, Tennessee

Fox Blocks ICFs (6,460 ft2) helped construct this 6,873 ft2 sustainable, energy-efficient, and high performing home. Dale Gabardi Residential Design designed the family home with ICF on all vertical walls and geothermal heating and cooling. In addition, the home includes insulated Raycore closed-cell insulated roof panels under the roof deck, producing an attic with temperature fluctuations of only 5- to 6-degrees.

It took Ryan Gunn, Mid-South ICF Builders, 65 days to install the ICF, while the $1.4 million home's total construction time took 84 weeks.

Unlimited Residential Winner and People’s Choice Award

Cozzi Residence in Fayetteville, Georgia

The Cozzi multi-generation home offers space for parents and extended family. Greg Williams, Classic Design Associates, also designed the 6,822 ft2 home for storm safety and energy efficiency with 4,950 ft2, installed by Dannie Richardson, Millennium Walls, and a quality ERV and energy-efficient heat pumps.

General contractor, Crossroads Quality Construction Inc., completed the $1.5 million project in 61 weeks.

Large-Residential 1st Runner-Up

Sofia Court in Wallkill, New York

David Toder, Bolder Architecture, designed this net-zero, air-tight 4,134 ft2 family home with Fox Blocks ICFs, solar energy, demand-controlled balanced ERV, and geothermal for space conditioning and 100 percent of hot water heating. Dan Albach, D&A Concrete, installed the 4,642 ft2 of ICF in just 28 days, while general contractor Anthony Aebi, Zeronetnow completed the $650,000 project in only 36 weeks.

Large Residential and People’s Choice Winner

Krafhaus in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Martine Vogel and Daniel Vogel, of High-Performance Structures, Inc. DBA Open Range Construction designed this 4,194 ft2 net-zero-energy home with beautiful Pikes Peak views through a 2-story radius window wall. The sustainable design includes 5,336 ft2 of Fox Blocks ICF, a ten kW photovoltaic system, Tesla Powerwall, Litedeck insulated attic floor over the main house, and water-to-water geothermal heating and cooling. The home also includes an accessory suite separated by 8-inch ICFs, creating an exceptionally private and quiet space.

The $1.2 million family home took 64 weeks to complete construction, while the ICF installation took 68 days.

Small-Residential 1st Runner-Up and People's Choice Winner

Diceman Modern Farmhouse in Dallas, Texas

Alison Charley, Hoffman Homes built this ICF, one-story-modern farmhouse offsite (2,556 ft2) in just 33 weeks. It took only ten days to install the 2,691 ft2 of ICF. Jay Peskuski, Peskuski Design Firm, incorporated tall ceilings in the public areas to expand the space. For energy-efficiency, they installed Fox Blocks ICFs, clerestory windows to minimize exterior glass yet allow natural light, and a Lennox sealed combustion high-performance HVAC. Additionally, the design includes an ICF pantry that also serves as a safe room. This small, sustainable family home cost $939,000.

Learn More About the Benefits of ICF

The quick and straightforward installation of Fox Blocks ICFs saves builders money and time during the construction process. Contact Fox Blocks today to learn more about the benefits of ICF construction.