2007 ABC Excellence in Construction Awards

The Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington recognize quality and innovation in merit shop construction with their annual Excellence in Construction awards. For 2007, Rafn Company was proud to have their projects win three of these awards.

Eagle of Excellence and Best Historical Restoration - Trinity Parish Church

Located near the base of First Hill, Trinity Parish Church was built immediately after the Great Fire of 1889 and is on the National Historic Register. In 2001, the building was severely damaged by earthquake.

Rafn completed work to repair the church, including major structural seismic reinforcement with concrete and steel, wood structure repair and seismic reinforcement, repair of the stone masonry walls, repair and restoration of ornamental plaster and wood work, new elevator and new mechanical and electrical systems.

Best Interior Renovation/Improvement Under $10 Million - DESC Connections

Downtown Emergency Service Center's Connections facility was created to meet the multiple needs of downtown Seattle's homeless population. As a day shelter and hygiene center, Connections does not provide the homeless with a bed, but it aims to take care of everything else. The myriad needs and functions of Connections all fit snugly and efficiently into less than 9,000 square feet of the historic Morrison Hotel, which underwent a massive renovation and seismic retrofit in 2005. The installation of structural steel and interior demolition of the space was completed by Rafn during the original renovation. The Connections interior renovation started with raw space created from that process.

The facility has a full service commercial kitchen for serving meals, provides bathrooms and showers with epoxy floor and wall glass coatings for durability, laundry facilities, computer and Internet access in the lower floor computer training area, a training/work area on the main floor, phone booths providing free telephone calls for clients, and referrals to substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling and job training. The facility includes 8 offices including a nurse office and 2 additional conference rooms.

2006 ABC Excellence in Construction Awards

Eagle of Excellence - The Morrison Hotel

Best Historical Restoration - Cadillac Hotel

Best Sustainable Certified Construction - Blakely Town Hall

Best Mixed-Use Construction - Denny Park Apartments

Construction Works - 23rd and Judkins & PCC Fremont

Awarded by King County, the Construction Works awards recognize companies that are leaders in recycling, reducing waste, and using recycled-content materials.

Changing The Game

The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle's Contractor Development and Competitiveness Center gave this award to Rafn Company in recognition of its commitment to expand contracting opportunities for small and underutilized businesses in Seattle.

25 Green Building Leaders

In 2004, Sustainable Industries Journal Northwest recognized Rafn Company's Ann Schuessler as one of the region's 25 Green Building Leaders. Ann is Rafn's Director of Sustainable Building and a LEED Accredited Professional.

BEST Sustainable Building Award - Traugott Terrace

The BEST (Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow) Awards celebrate notable "green" achievements by companies in the Greater Seattle area. Rafn's Traugott Terrace project was awarded the top Sustainable Building honor in 2004. Traugott Terrace's sustainable features include:

• During construction of the 32,000-sq. ft. building, Rafn Company recycled 87% of the construction debris through both source-separated and co-mingled recycling.
• A key design element was access to natural light and ventilation. All apartments have large, operable windows and either have street frontage or face out toward a shared deck. The deck, incidentally, is made with recycled plastic lumber.
• Other environmental attributes of the apartment units include: 1.5 gallon-per-minute faucets and showerheads, continuous ventilation bathroom fans and range hood fans that vent to the outside, linoleum flooring, recycled-content carpeting in the bedrooms, low-VOC paints and coatings and energy-efficient appliances.
• The building itself has several energy- and water-saving features: light-colored roof coatings, a well-insulated and air-sealed envelope, low-e windows, a heat-recovery ventilator for ventilation to all common spaces, fluorescent lighting, front-loading washing machines and occupancy and daylight sensors in corridors. Annual energy savings is approximately $18,000 or 26% better than comparable buildings. Total water savings is 33% higher than similar buildings.
• A high percentage of the building products used are made with recycled, locally manufactured or harvested, or rapidly renewable materials . Most impressive is the fact that nearly 80% of the framing and plywood is sustainably harvested, as certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

SeaGreen - Traugott Terrace

Traugott Terrace won the first SeaGreen award in 2003. Traugott Terrace used many green-building practices to become the first affordable housing project in the United States to receive Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Awarded by the Seattle Office of Housing, SeaGreen honors affordable housing projects in Seattle that are built under the City's new sustainable building guidelines.

2003 Eagle of Excellence - IslandWood

2003 Specialty Construction Award of Excellence - IslandWood

2003 Excellence in Concrete Construction - Twilight Center

2003 Excellence in Concrete Construction - IslandWood