Winner's Circle

For builders and designers, a coveted Aurora Award is not won by their model homes' good looks alone, although attractive design is certainly one criterion.

Aurora Award judges are all nationally recognized professionals in the home building, architecture and interior design fields, and they seek out quality design, functionality, livability, innovation, cost efficiency and value. For the prospective homebuyer, an Aurora Award is added assurance that the homebuilder they choose is top-drawer.

This year's competition was the most intense in the Aurora Awards' 25-year history; builders from Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia submitted a record 445 entries.

Winners were announced at the annual Southeast Building Conference in Orlando, and four area homebuilders and two interior design firms joined the winner's circle.

Among them was Pruett Builders , which won an Aurora for Best Energy Efficient Home for its Villa di Lencia model at Legends Walk in The Country Club at Lakewood Ranch. The four-bedroom, four-bath Mediterranean-inspired model was built to Florida Green Building Coalition standards. Among its energy-saving features are radiant barrier insulation; three Hepa/ERV fresh air filter systems that ensure indoor air quality; and vinyl, double-insulated, tinted windows that reduce heat and UV rays.

Gibraltar Homes, Inc. is another local builder that brought home an Aurora, for the Caterina III model in Mizner Reserve in The Country Club at Lakewood Ranch, which won Best Single-Family Detached Home in the $500,000 to $750,000 category. Aurora Award judges rated the Caterina III especially appealing to high-end empty nesters who want to downsize without sacrificing privacy and design detail. At 2,985 square feet, it has an open, spacious floor plan and a wealth of custom details, such as wood-trimmed columns and mosaic tile inlays.

"Winning an Aurora Award means acknowledgement from respected professionals from outside our immediate area," says Albert Sanchez, co-owner of Gibraltar Homes, Inc. "And it emphasizes our company's ability to identify our niche marketplace and our commitment to designing and building a great home that meets and/or exceeds their expectations."

2004 Regional Aurora Award Winners

Detached Single-Family Home
$500,000-$750,000:
Neal Communities
St. Simons At Woodlands Park

Detached Single-Family Home
$500,000-$750,000:
Gibraltar Homes, Inc.
Caterina III at Mizner Reserve in The Country Club at Lakewood Ranch

Interior Merchandising
$300,000-$500,000:
Kay Green Design, Inc.
Carlyle by Bruce Williams Homes in Indigo Ridge at University Place

Interior Merchandising:
The Interiors Group
Clarendon II by Pruett Builders, Inc. at Ashland at Lakewood Ranch Country Club

Best Energy Efficient Home:
Pruett Builders, Inc.
Villa Di Lencia in Legends Walk in The Country Club at Lakewood Ranch

Best Solar Energy Efficient Home
and Best Energy Efficient Home:
Kemick Construction Company
Majestic III