Insulspan received top honors for the 2002 Excellence In Model Home Design Contest presented by Building Systems Magazine and the Building Systems Councils of the National Association of Home Builders. The Model Home is located in Silverton, Colo., and was honored on the basis of its overall design, buyer appeal, model merchandising, and exterior treatments that encourages sales.

The home, located in the heart of the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado, sits beside the authentic Durango/Silverton Narrow Gauge railroad tracks, with visitors debarking at the model's front door. The model is a sales center and a residence incorporated into the 4,000 sq. ft. structure. Not only is it functional, but it blends into the 125-year-old historic preservation district of Silverton. The architecture of the building represents an era of both mining and steam locomotion. Reclaimed barn siding covers the Insulspan panels. The tensilform roof rusts naturally to give an aged look.

Visitors enjoy a "step back in time" feeling when they walk onto the timber framed porch entry that is in keeping with train depots of the era. The inside of the building represents the latest in Insulspan panel and timber frame construction. Customers pass through an Old World exterior into a finely crafted dwelling, shop and showroom. Many folks are overheard asking whether the building is "old made to look new or new, made to look old."

A highly unique feature of this model, is its location in a potential avalanche chute, the Arcade slide. It is situated in what is known as a "toe" or "wind blast" zone. The structural engineer for the project commented that if it weren't for the superior strength of the Insulspan panels and the timber frame, he could not specify it. Wood stud frame construction would not have been able to meet the code given in this zone.

The award was presented to Insulspan, Inc. CEO Frank Baker at a Building Systems Council's trade show in Orlando, Fla. The Model Home was featured in the January/February 2002 bonus issue of Building Systems Magazine and featured on www.buildingsystems.com/newpage31.htm.