According to TCA, the purpose of the Awards Program is to recognize outstanding site cast Tilt-Up structures and advances in technology, products and methods used in the Tilt-Up industry. Jim Baty, technical director of TCA and staff liaison to the Awards Committee, said this year’s program introduces new considerations for building program and budget, as well as consideration for technical innovation and achievement.

“We have greatly refined the awards program to better reflect the projects and trends found in the Tilt-Up industry,” said Baty. “As such, we have implemented processes that will allow submissions to receive award consideration even if they aren’t the flashiest or most expensive of projects. In other words, we have leveled the playing field.”

Glen Stephens, chair of the TCA Awards Committee and president of Stephens, Aylward & Associates, said the changes to the submittal categories, judging process and eligibility of projects allows more projects from the industry to be represented in the awards program.

The rules and categories for submission are as follows:

Eligibility

• You must be a TCA Contractor, Professional or Supplier member to submit. Non-members do not qualify for the awards program.

• Projects that may be submitted include:
  • Those completed in the calendar year since the previous program
  • Those never submitted in a previous year’s program (no age limit)
  • Those that have been submitted but were not selected to receive an award. 
  • Projects may be submitted up to five times for award consideration.
• You must complete the form that follows providing technical and design information and key criteria supporting the consideration of your project as well as key contact information for the project as available.  We request that you work within the project team to diligently provide as much information as possible regarding the construction statistics and the materials used.

• You must submit photography by the program deadline.  Please see Photography Requirements and Photography Tips for more information on what you should be submitting.  Photography must support the placement of a project in a selected category to be considered for that category.  Note:  Judges will be given the ability to move a project if they feel justification has not been given for placement in a particular category.

Each entry will be charged an entry fee of $150.00 (U.S.).  A project may only be considered for one category.  Projects submitted for multiple categories will be placed by the judges in the most appropriate category.  Please remit payment amount to the Tilt-Up Concrete Association or contact our headquarters at 319-895-6911 to make arrangements for payment or pay by credit card.

Submittal deadline is AUGUST 31st, 2007.  Entries submitted after this date will be automatically entered into the following year’s program.

Criteria –The judges retained for deliberating on the submitted projects will review each project based on the following:

• Aesthetic Appeal - 40%
• Creativity of Structural & Architectural Design - 40%
• Sets New Standards/Advances the Industry - 20%

Each category will receive a rating of 1 to 10 with 1 being low and 10 being high based on how successful the judge feels the project was in responding to the category description.  In addition, the judges will be given a maximum of 10 bonus points to award projects for Judge Bonus Discretion.  This is intended to award points for particular keenness or appreciation for the achievements made.

Categories –The nineteen categories for project entry consist of the primary markets that Tilt-Up currently addresses on a regular basis and divisions of those markets.  The list of categories for this year’s competition includes:

• Manufacturing/Industrial – A project used for the sole purpose of producing a product or delivering a service.  Office components should be generally 20% +/- of the developed building area, in other words, the vast majority of the building function should be for the production of the product served.
• Corporate Headquarters Center – A project that consists of an amalgamation of space requirements supporting the main center of operations for a company or entity including but not limited to manufacturing, distribution, office, R+D, cafeteria, showroom and other common elements.
• Warehouse/Distribution – A project used for the purpose of storing product of some type or used in the transportation and logistics of products.  Office components should be generally 10% +/- of the developed building area. Subcategories are as follows:
  Small Business/Distribution, Speculative
• Retail – A project used for the purpose of selling products and services to the end user/consumer.  Subcategories include:
  Life-style centers (Walking Malls), Single Occupant, “Big Box”
• Office – A project used for a variety of administrative operations of a business.  Program components other than office environments should generally be less than 10% +/- of the gross building area.  Subcategories include:
  One-Two Story, Three Stories and Higher
• Religious Buildings – A project providing space for the purpose of gathering groups of people for worship of a higher being or purpose.
• Educational – A project used for any level of education
  K-12, Higher Ed
• Institutional – A service or public-use project not described above.  Subcategories include:
  Detention/Correction, Low-Rise, Parking Garage, Service Facilities (Hospitals, Care Centers)
• Commercial (Hotels, Golf Clubs, Recreation, Theaters, etc.) A project charging fees or rates for the use of the space enclosed or the administration of the spaces owned by the entity.
• Housing – A project developed for the purpose of providing living space(s).  These projects can be classified as single-family, multi-family, townhome, apartment, dormitory, etc.
• Special Projects – A project that is not described by a classification found in any of the other categories.  These projects may be civic, recreational or other in use.
• Innovative Application Techniques – A project that may have another classification but is being submitted not for the quality of the project but for the technological achievement of the design or construction process.

Photography Requirements - A minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 photographs shall be submitted for each judging criteria noted above for each project. This will provide the necessary insight to the project’s ability to address the definition of each category. Each photo must be at least 5 x 7 in size at 300 dpi or be an actual 5 x 7 print (digital is encouraged). Strong 8 x 10 inch images are encouraged as they will provide options for future magazine covers or spreads.

All photography should be sent on CD, DVD or on a ZIP-100 disk to the attention of Jim Baty, Technical Director at TCA Headquarters. More information can be obtained or questions answered via email through jbaty@tilt-up.org.

Photography Tips - Although digital photography provides many benefits, it is only a solution when used properly. Size and resolution must be adjusted depending on the end use of the photograph.

The photos submitted will be used for both video and print materials for a variety of marketing and public relations efforts. It is essential that images are provided in high resolution format: 300 dpi (dots per inch) at 5 x 7 inch size. Since most digital cameras default to 72 dpi, unless you are confident that you can adequately change the settings, stick with an old-fashion camera and film for your submission. A 72 dpi image must be at least 11” x 16” to be effective in a newsletter. Cover art must be even higher resolution. Use a high quality (low compression) mode if stored as a jpeg file (minimum quality 8). Real print photographs can always be scanned and modified to meet the needed resolution.

Entry Fees/Deadline -- There is a $150 entry fee for each project submitted. Entry forms must be submitted by August 31, 2007.