The six-storey Atrium building at 800 Yates St. stood tall this week, taking honours in two categories at the 20th annual Commercial Building Awards sponsored by the commercial division of the Victoria Real Estate Board.
The $100-million Atrium, built by Jawl Properties and designed by Franc D'Ambrosio, was named the judge's choice for overall excellence and took top honours as the best commercial office building. The building, home to B.C. Ferries and several local businesses on the ground floor, has 200,000 square feet of Class A office space and an 8,000-squarefoot atrium. To be eligible for the awards, projects had to have been completed between June 1, 2010, and May 31, 2011.
Judges were looking at the overall exterior of each building or development project and how it fits into the surrounding area, as well as sensitivity to the environment, esthetics and what need the building serves within the community.
The Times Colonist community award went to the Royal Jubilee Patient Care Centre and the Victoria Real Estate Board's Green Award was given to Olympic Vista Apartments at 3806 Carey Rd.
Other excellence award winners were Colonial Countertops Stone Division, 609 Alpha St., in the renovation category; Campus Infiniti Auto Dealership, 3371 Oak St., in the retail category; Camas Gardens, 950 Humboldt St., in the community category; The Hudson, 770 Fisgard St., in the heritage renovation category; Royal Roads' Learning and Innovation Centre won in the institutional category; and 351 Cook St./1101 Oscar St., the Wilf Gorter Construction project, won for mixed-use.
Merit awards went to 947 Fort St. in the commercial office category; Thrifty Foods Cloverdale for commercial renovation; Campus Acura at 3347 Oak St. for retail; Rock Bay Landing, 535 Ellice St., in the community category; and École Doncaster Elementary at 1525 Rowan St. in the institutional category.