Artisans Group News

PART 2!

As mentioned in our last post, October was such a busy month that we had to break our news post into two parts.  As promised, here is some more news from that busy-busy October, 2017.

Award Winning Local Passive House Design + Build Firm

Recognition with awards is always an honor.  More than feeling honored with the recognition, though, we feel blessed to work with such amazing clients throughout our design+build process.

We thank our clients for the trust they put in us to ensure their dreams are designed and built with quality and care.

To everyone who has worked with us, these rewards are a nod to you.  Thank you for believing that something better is possible, and thank you for working with us to make it happen.

Passive House - Best Single Family Home 2017

The Passive House Projects Competition is an annual competition put on by the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) meant to recognize “exemplary fully-certified passive building projects of all types and climate zones.”

At this year’s North American Passive House Conference the recently finished Delphi Haus won the Best Single Family House award!  Delphi House is both an extremely energy efficient Passive House and Universal Design influenced home meant to provide a beautiful, healthy and comfortable Aging In Place experience.

Passive House - Best Project By A Young Professional

Also awarded by PHIUS as part of the Passive House Projects Competition, our very own Tessa Smith was recognized for Delphi Haus, her contemporary Pacific Northwest architecture answer to how to build a sustainable and highly energy efficient home that is as functionally amazing as it is beautifully designed and built.

Three cheers for Tessa.  Her continued push for excellence in ecological architecture is an ongoing source of inspiration locally and nationally.

Business Examiner - 40 Under 40

The Business Examiner released the award list for their 2017 40 Under 40, and they recognize Tessa Smith as an “outstanding South Sound business and community leader” under 40.  As co-Principal of our firm Tessa helped steer Artisans Group through the Great Recession by doubling down on quality construction and refocusing on custom sustainable homes.  With projects ranging from LEED Certified to the revolutionary Passive House, her investment in sustainability stems from a belief that strong communities begin with a healthy home.  

Awesome may just be an understatement.     

Tour of Homes - Best Commercial Remodel

Speaking of commercial projects, Olympia’s own 222 Market was recognized by the Olympia Master Builders as the Best Commercial Remodel of 2017.  This update of an underused concrete form Art Deco building transformed an office space into one of the busiest pedestrian corners in downtown Olympia.    

Tour of Homes - Best Curbside Appeal - People’s Choice

222 Market!  

We feel fortunate to be part of this winning team that brought greater vitality to the downtown Olympia core.  Through modest, yet thoughtful updates to the exterior of this once-upon-a-time auto showroom, the 222 Market is now a visible cornerstone of Olympia’s resurgence.  

Kudos to the entire team that made (and is making) this project an exciting blend of regional cuisine and style.

Almost Finished - New Olympia Custom Homes

The Tolmie House, is almost ready for move-in!  This custom home features a large dormer window positioned to warm our clients' home and spirits with sunlight, even through our classic Pacific Northwest winters.  Their home also has a well insulated floor and wall system to help them decrease energy use and long term costs.  As always, the final phase as we prepare for our clients to actually live in their new home is incredibly exciting.  From our expert carpenters ensuring all the details line up, to final inspections with officials, we get to share our clients' excitement every time we get this close to the finish.

In addition, the urban Madison Passive House keeps moving right along.  All of the exterior windows and doors are installed, exterior insulation is installed, and interior insulation will be blown in any day.  We'll keep you updated on this excited project as we get even closer to completion.  Building a Passive House in such a vibrant and established neighborhood means our construction crew has the opportunity to have daily conversations with curious passers-by, and more people get to learn about the amazing benefits of these super energy efficient homes.

That’s A Wrap!

Well, thank you for making it all the way to the end of this blog post with us.  We’re not normally so expansive - but between our new website going live (yay!) - two Passive House Conferences in two weeks - and the annual Olympia Master Builders Tour of Homes celebration - well, there’s a lot to report on.

We hope you all have a wonderful start to Autumn, and we look forward to working with you.