The deadline to submit nominations for the eighth annual Elevation Awards from the Commercial Painting Industry Association and Technology Publishing Company is Friday, June 28, at midnight ET. This annual honors program recognizes projects ranging from residential exteriors and commercial renovations to floor coatings and wall coverings throughout the commercial coatings industry.
New to this year’s Elevation Awards program, one of the winning contractors will be selected at random to receive an Ultra 490 XT Electric Airless Sprayer, generously donated by equipment manufacturer Graco Inc. According to Graco, the new sprayer, which was released earlier this year, offers maximum portability for smaller jobs. The unit features a 1.3 HP Xtreme Torque motor, a Next Generation Rapid-Response Pressure Control and the longest life of any pump in its class.
How to Enter
To submit a nomination or for more information, visit paintsquare.com/elevation. The process for entering is free and easy:
-Fill out all contact information fields in the online entrance form.
-Select the appropriate Project Category and name your project.
-Name the owner and contributors to the project.
-Include the project’s start and end dates.
-Describe your project in detail in “About the Project.”
-List the products and quantities used in “Products Used.”
-Upload between five and 10 high-resolution photos of the project.
All nominated projects must be completed between Jan. 1, 2023, and June 28, 2024. You will be notified when your entry has been accepted.
Who Qualifies?
Facility owners, architects, interior designers, painting contractors, decorative artisans, manufacturers and suppliers are all invited to submit information about their projects for consideration.
Last year’s winning projects, recapped in the Fall 2023 issue of Commercial Painting, included historic building renovations using cutting-edge materials, new construction of a much-needed community center, creative flooring installation at a century-old church and several other technically and aesthetically outstanding projects.
In order to be eligible for consideration, a representative from the contractor, materials supplier and/or facility owner must be present at the award ceremony to accept the award.
The 2024 Elevation Awards will be presented at the CPIA Leadership Conference, scheduled Oct. 20-23 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. Winners will be notified in advance to make travel and hotel arrangements.
The Benefits
Video and photos from the award ceremony will be featured on CPIA and PaintSquare websites and social media. The winning projects will also be featured in an article in an issue of Commercial Painting magazine and profiled individually on PaintSquare.com. All of this coverage will also be highlighted on social media.
Finalists and winners will receive digital badges to include on their websites, email signatures and social sites. Winners will also receive a framable certificate acknowledging the honor.
More Details
The award categories are as follows:
New Construction
This award is given for the effective use of coatings and other decorative treatments to achieve interior and/or exterior aesthetic effects on a new construction project—such as those used for retail, hospitality, lodging or entertainment—or a public building, such as a legislative chamber, a school or a railway station.
Mixed-Use Commercial
This award is given for the effective use of coatings and other substrate treatments to enhance the interior and/or exterior of a mixed-use commercial building. Examples include buildings where spaces are shared for retail, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment and transportation.
Multi-Family/Residential High-Rise
This award is given for the effective use of coatings and other decorative treatments to achieve interior and/or exterior aesthetic effects on a high-end residential structure. Examples include multifamily and high-rise residential.
Institutional (Healthcare, Education, Other)
This award is given for the effective use of coatings and other substrate treatments to enhance the interior and/or exterior of an institutional structure. Examples include hospitals, healthcare facilities, educational facilities, schools and childcare facilities.
Floor Coatings
This award is given for outstanding achievement in selection and installation of a floor coating or treatment that excels in aesthetic effects, durability and maintainability. (Applications must make a persuasive case for how a project achieves durability/maintainability.)
Ancillary/Misc. Services (Roof Coatings, Wallcovering, Fabric Panels, Other)
This award will be given to a successful ancillary service project that achieved demonstrable energy savings and desirable aesthetic on, or within, a building. Project examples vary from roof coatings to air barriers and moisture management, to wallcovering and fabric panel installations.
Judges' Choice Award
Drawing from individual category winners, judges will select an overall winner to receive the Judges' Choice Award, which recognizes an outstanding architecture project that best exemplifies the seamless combination of compelling aesthetics and high performance in use of coatings and other substrate treatments.
Tips for Submitting a Nomination
To submit a successful nomination, TPC and the CPIA suggest the following:
-When filling out the “About the Project” section, be as descriptive as possible. Our judges would like to know the project’s challenges and why decision makers made the choices they did. This section should run anywhere between 10 and 15 sentences but can run longer as needed.
-Being specific is key in the “Products Used for Project” section. List all the products and quantities used on the project. This section can cover everything from surface preparation materials to primers, intermediate and top coats to wallcoverings and glazes. A short sentence explaining why each product was chosen should also be included.
-Photos can be the most crucial part of submitting a successful project nomination. For this reason, be sure to include at least five high-resolution photos that best demonstrate the quality and breadth of the project. It’s acceptable to include photos of work in progress in addition to photos of the finished work.
