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Condo Wins Prestigious Award, I Roll My Eyes

By Matt Goyer June 24, 2009

Maybe I’m an outsider and don’t know just how important the Gold Nugget Awards are but when I got a press release from 1521 declaring their victory I rolled my eyes while the other bloggers lapped it up:

Opus Northwest, today announced that its Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue condominium development in downtown Seattle received two honors at the 47th annual Gold Nugget Awards. At the awards ceremony â€“ the premier event at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference â€“ Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue won the top award for â€œOutstanding Attached Project â€“ High-Rise for Saleâ€ and received an â€œaward of meritâ€ in the category of â€œSustainable Residential Neighborhood â€“ Attached Home.â€ Another Opus project, Canvas LA, won an award of merit for â€œResidential Community of the Year â€“ Attached.â€

Maybe it’s the name of the awards, maybe it’s the limited terrority they cover (Washington, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Wyoming). But they just don’t sound compelling.

Could an industry insider clue us into the awards that we should pay attention to and the ones we should ignore?

Thank you kindly.

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21 responses to “Condo Wins Prestigious Award, I Roll My Eyes”

CameronRex says:

June 25, 2009 at 11:23 am

These sound like made up awards to me…
Christina says:

June 25, 2009 at 2:56 pm

I entered my little low-income housing, LEED Platinum project for homeless people with HIV/AIDS in the same category Gold Nugget as 1521 and was very disappointed to lose to a behemoth.

Interesting side note: the awards were supposed to be announced on a Friday, but they had to delay 'til the following Monday because “so few architects are working on Fridays these days.”
EB says:

June 25, 2009 at 5:24 pm

A lot of architects aren't working Mon-Thurs either. Many of them have been laid off. I know of 3 friends who have been let go from their residential firms.
danny says:

June 27, 2009 at 2:40 am

Matt rolls his eyes. OMG. Dude grow up. Would you be rolling your eyes if Trace had won the big nugget? I don't think so.
The MD says:

June 27, 2009 at 8:02 am

I agree with Matt. This is a B.S. award. The “Gold Nugget Awards?” ROFLMFAO. The ONLY people who would care about this are the builders themselves. Consumers could care less because why? Because they've NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A RIDICULOUSLY NAMED AWARD! Also, did you happen to see the categories in these awards? Sh*t! They might as well had an award that went to “best detached development under 14 stories, but over 6 1/2 stories, that was was no bigger than 9,000 square feet in footprint, made of all straw and mud, inhabited by more than 4 little-people families, just South of a stripper joint, but east of a Pentecostal Church” There was a friggin' award for just about anything imaginable – which shows this was an award ceremony made up by developers for developers.
GoCougs says:

June 28, 2009 at 10:33 am

The pics of the developers on the webpage are hilarious…like a ghetto Oscar ceremony. Mark Schuster looks especially funny.
Just some guy named Justin says:

June 28, 2009 at 9:06 pm

I remember the first time I won a sales plaque from a sales company that had yet to ever award any sales plaques at all. It was a start up company, and the founders were looking for a way to retain employees. They were trying to take the company to the “next level.”

Being the first sales rep to get a sales plaque and get a new title of “Internet Consultant” from my newly made up previous title “Sales Rep” I personally thought the whole thing was rather corny.

It wasn't until the 3rd or 4th sales milestone that I achieved to which I started to notice the respect and admiration other employees gave me for moving up the sales ranks. Generally a humble person, it admittedly started to take a toll on my ego (in a positive way) and inspired me to have a more confident presence in my office. From then on, I was not only able to start helping the company I loved make more money, but it also made an impact on some other people's lives since I simply felt more confident in sharing my experience.

With that said, the bullshit plaque turned out to be something that did in fact inspire. In addition, I'm sure they (OPUS, Gold Nugget, Nyhus, etc.) didn't make up some award to just push press releases on to bloggers or other media. Especially considering it's the 47th Annual!!! Regardless of if you're impressed or not, recognition for anything is a good thing for everybody. They're just sharing their success.

Also, I wouldn't go around and say other bloggers “lapped it up.” You can't assume that because we get a press release in our email box and then post it, means that we're jumping with joy thinking it's just an opportunity to manipulate somebody into a sale. All of us are always happy to share any press releases, and for the most part we all post in a way that allows the interested party to simply make an educated decision that they're happy with.

…knocking on the Schuster Group because they're excited to have been recognized? C'mon.

*The first â€œtall and skinnyâ€ residential tower under a new zoning code (440 feet tall)
*Elimination of traditional terraces in favor of indoor/outdoor solariums
*Unobstructed views of Elliott Bay from almost every home (even those on the east side of the tower)
*Larger-format, two-bedroom homes averaging 1,950 square feet (twice the size of typical condos)
*The first luxury high-rise anticipated to achieve a â€œsilverâ€ LEED rating

…all legit!

All those people have worked hard all their lives with good intent. I've met most of them and have yet to feel like any of them are doing what they're doing to be terrible.

Here's an article about what I'm sure inspired the “tall and skinny”
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/207236_downtown1…

Here's the About content on the Gold Nugget Awards website:
The Gold Nugget Awards are a centerpiece of PCBC â€“ Homebuildingâ€™s Premier Tradeshow and Conference. Combining the prestige of the awards themselves with the excitement of its Academy Awards-style presentation, these ceremonies feature music, entertainment and the exceptional visual presentation of winners. The 46th ANNUAL GOLD NUGGET AWARDS recognizing builders, developers, architects, and land planners with communities and projects in the 14 Western States and ALL international countries.

Any project or development that was open for sale, lease or rental from January 1, 2007 to date of entry located in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

International projects in any or all international countries of the world are eligible.
Gold Nugget winners share one common denominator: excellence and innovation in addressing complex design/build issues. The competition Co-sponsored by BUILDER, a national magazine of the housing industry. Co-sponsors include major building product manufacturers, financial institutions and builders, architects and associates in the real estate field.

The Gold Nugget Awards were born in 1963 at American Builder, for many years a national magazine of the building industry. They were conceived expressly for PCBC, to recognize builder/developer excellence throughout the 14 Western states. Almost immediately, the Gold Nuggets became known as “Best In The West,” an accurate description of their trend-setting qualities and geographic reach. Journal Scope, the magazine of the National Association of Home Builders, joined PCBC as program sponsor after American Builder, publishing selected winners through most of the 1970s. Since that time, BUILDER has been the most prominent magazine to co-sponsor and publish Gold Nugget winners.

Don't know what else to say other than to just sit here and roll my eyes.
The MD says:

June 28, 2009 at 10:41 pm

Wow. I'll take that all into consideration. Done with that. They're still bull sh*t.
Al Doyle says:

June 30, 2009 at 10:33 pm

Interesting thread. The Gold Nuggets have recently been expanded to cover the “Pacific Rim” adding international competition to the mix. Lots of categories? It's because there are many ways to develop any given piece of land. The judges are peersâ€”- top tier architects, developers, etc. who do not have projects represented in the year they are judging. Award process and judging selection is managed by people who don't have a dog in the fight. I've been part of this process (other similar regional and national awards) and can tell you that the judges take their work seriously. Sometimes an odd project wins- after all there is no accounting for taste- even among architects and builders. Are they BS? I guess like American Idol, your opinion might be influenced by whether or not your favorite won. Are they useful? Yes. The aim of these third party professional recognition programs is to raise the bar. We need to raise the bar. (Personally I'd like to see that bar raised for homes in the $200,000s or under; it's pretty hard to screw up at $2 mil + a pop!)
EconE says:

July 1, 2009 at 1:02 am

So it's an “I'll scratch your back this year if you scratch my back next year” kind of marketing award eh?

I'll take a Matt Goyer recommendation long before I take a “marketers”.
The MD says:

July 1, 2009 at 5:16 pm

EconE, AMEN! And, referring to Al Doyl's comment, American Idol is a BS competition too! I really love the way all those “winners” have gone on to change the face of music as we know it! This gets richer and richer every time I read how a marketer/developer/agent/architect defends this crap. LOL
EconE says:

July 1, 2009 at 10:46 pm

Do people really watch that show? LOL.

No stupidity shortage in the good 'ol USA!
Sam Cunningham says:

July 7, 2009 at 4:52 pm

I was at the Gold Nugget awards & found them very interesting. There was an emphasis on sustainable, creative Eco friendly development this year that hasn't been seen in awhile. The Cottage Company (http://www.cottagecompany.com), another Northwest developer, also won several awards (“Leaders in building complete, connected communities of not-so-big homes so you can live large and leave a small footprint on the earth”), & a full half of the winners presented innovative ideas in energy conservation, affordable housing & Earth friendly building techniques.

I also got to get my picture taken holding the Gold Nugget for Fifteen Twenty One Second Avenue, it was thrilling. And heavy. Very heavy. You can come see it in the lobby.
EconE says:

July 7, 2009 at 5:04 pm

Well then. I guess I stand corrected. If the award is really *really* heavy, and it gives you an erection while holding it…that's all that matters.

;^)
Justin says:

July 7, 2009 at 5:09 pm

Haters! I think it's cool. Congrats.
mattgoyer says:

July 7, 2009 at 6:28 pm

Sam, you can't tease us with talk of a photo but not send us a copy!
The MD says:

July 7, 2009 at 9:34 pm

It's the nicest fools' gold nugget cast in clear resin I've ever seen! Operative word being FOOLS'! LMAO!
EconE says:

July 8, 2009 at 12:42 am

Not haters…teasers. Sure…1521 looks like a nice place. It should be able to stand on it's own without an “award”. So…we make fun of the award…big deal ::shrugs::

Have all your favorite movies won Oscars?

Are there any Oscar winners that you didn't like?

Remember…we're Matt's audience. He's a pretty straight shooter. It's not like we have to blindly agree with everything he says, but he's not afraid to point out…as in the title of the Clint Eastwood film…”The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”
mattgoyer says:

July 8, 2009 at 1:28 am

Sam, you can't tease us with talk of a photo but not send us a copy!
The MD says:

July 8, 2009 at 4:34 am

It's the nicest fools' gold nugget cast in clear resin I've ever seen! Operative word being FOOLS'! LMAO!
EconE says:

July 8, 2009 at 7:42 am

Not haters…teasers. Sure…1521 looks like a nice place. It should be able to stand on it's own without an “award”. So…we make fun of the award…big deal ::shrugs::

Have all your favorite movies won Oscars?

Are there any Oscar winners that you didn't like?

Remember…we're Matt's audience. He's a pretty straight shooter. It's not like we have to blindly agree with everything he says, but he's not afraid to point out…as in the title of the Clint Eastwood film…”The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”

Condo Wins Prestigious Award, I Roll My Eyes

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