Photo courtesy of NWCB The condo building’s exterior is coated with EIFS for energy efficiency and aesthetics.

The Legacy on Mara Lake is located on the shores of Mara Lake, just south in the Sicamous area of Shuswap, B.C. The luxury recreational development offers terraced condominiums above outdoor pools, a beach and private marina.

The project’s environmentally friendly geothermal heating and cooling was complemented by StoTherm Classic NExT (New Exterior Technology) EIFS for energy efficiency and aesthetics.

As with many projects in British Columbia, the most challenging aspects of this project revolved around the weather. With the EIFS system beginning in the fall of 2008, the winter weather and cold winds coming off Mara Lake required that the building be tented and temporarily heated. As the contrasting warm temperatures of spring and summer arrived, special attention had to be paid to insure uniformity of color and texture to match the finishes applied throughout the winter months.

Judge’s comment: “The craftsmen of Tru-Wal delivered a sharp, clean look to the Mara Lake project, that when combined with the energy efficiency of Sto’s EIFS system and natural geothermal heating and cooling, provide a solid example of how to achieve maximum energy efficiency for the life cycle of a structure.”