Homebuilder Recognized for Moving from Minimizing Harm to Enhancing Ecosystems

Victoria-Based Falcon Heights Contracting Double Finalist in National Sustainable Building Awards

Built Green Canada’s Maverick Awards reward and profile leadership in sustainable building, across three exclusive categories—these saw entries from British Columbia through to Ontario. One of the finalists for both the 2026 Innovation Award and the Transformational Award is Falcon Heights Contracting for The Perch, a BUILT GREEN® Platinum certified custom home in Victoria, B.C. These two awards recognize creative ways sustainable building is progressing industry and the transformative effect sustainability practices can have in driving change. This project is more than a house. It is the result of a reimagined approach to high-performance building and ecological preservation—bringing together multiple disciplines to deliver on the belief that sustainable building should enhance the natural environment, not just minimize harm to it.

On day one, Falcon Heights Contracting brought together energy specialists, civil and structural engineers, mechanical contractors, environmental biologists, architects, and their clients to shape decisions together. While traditional sustainable building focuses on reducing energy use, water consumption and material waste, their methodology went further to deliver measurable ecological outcomes, while enhancing the homeowners’ engagement with nature—including with a suspension bridge connecting to extensive on-site trails and even a bird watching tower.

Native habitat remained undisturbed through careful site positioning, and with a full biological assessment—including a biologist visiting monthly throughout construction to protect nesting birds and watershed integrity—the building footprint was determined by biological assessment rather than optimal construction logistics, preserving sensitive wetlands, native moss substrates and species.

One of the project’s most visible outdoor features is a suspension bridge connecting the residence to their six-kilometre on-site trail network. This required collaboration between geotechnical, structural and bridge engineers. Six-metre rock tiebacks angled at 40 degrees provide cable tension support, while preserving the ravine's natural character. The bridge deck used custom-milled four-by-eight yellow cedar, designed to patina naturally over time and blend with the surrounding forest. This bridge connects the home to their trail network, which was designed through site-specific analysis to minimize disturbance to moss substrates and wetland areas.

Meanwhile, thoughtful construction can go beyond protecting to actively restoring damaged ecosystems—as they showed by converting an old logging road back to its original streambed, restoring the watershed rather than simply preserving what was already there. Plus, the new landscaping choices were composed entirely of native species, which reduced irrigation demand, while supporting local biodiversity.

This innovative approach transformed how Falcon Heights Contracting addresses sustainable building. Now, they begin every project with ecological assessment, treating it as essential as structural engineering or energy modeling. This shift moves their sustainability practices from a set of features to an integrated methodology that shapes decisions from the start. It has changed how they engage with consultants towards a more collaborative approach that has improved both outcomes and efficiency: problems are identified before they become expensive adjustments, and they’re able to make choices that support the surrounding ecosystems.

Meanwhile, working through Built Green’s third-party certification program and its emphasis on encompassing all of sustainability, not just energy, reinforced the value of this broader collaboration. Built Green's eight-pillar framework provided structure for this approach, which Falcon Heights says pushed them to consider the house as an interconnected system rather than a collection of individual features; however, they also have an impressive list of those.

Accessibility features include full wheelchair access with a three-level elevator, up to the roof-top deck, providing greater safety and independence with the ability to age in place. Grid resilience was improved with renewable energy, including 11 kW solar generation capacity and three Powerwall V3 units for storage—providing power availability during outages, back-feeding to the grid, and future BC Hydro time demand usage. High-performance HVAC systems provide efficient, multi-zoned heating and cooling, while high air quality is delivered through two ERVs with HEPA-13 filtration. Locally sourced, renewable materials also contributed to a reduced footprint, alongside low-flow water fixtures and cisterns for irrigation, fire suppression and potable water.

Falcon Heights says that the main learning from this project is that innovation in sustainable building isn't always about new products or technologies; sometimes the most meaningful advances come from rethinking process and priorities. By placing ecological assessment at the beginning rather than treating it as a compliance check, they discovered design solutions that wouldn't have emerged from conventional approaches.

They also note that clients are genuinely motivated by environmental stewardship when they can see tangible results. The preserved wetlands, restored streambed and native-species landscaping created an emotional connection to sustainability that energy ratings alone don't achieve. This suggests that the building industry should communicate sustainable building in terms of place and ecosystem, not just performance metrics.

A member of Built Green Canada for almost 15 years, Falcon Heights Contracting is a luxury custom home builder in Victoria, B.C. They have over 30 years of experience and specialize in new construction homes and large-scale renovations that reflect their clients’ unique goals, values and lifestyles. Whether creating a dream estate, modernizing an existing home or navigating complex terrain on an empty property, they offer a different kind of building partnership: managing every detail with integrity, clarity, collaboration and care.

The Maverick Awards are another step forward in Built Green Canada's mission to progress sustainability practices and recognize leadership. Four winners have been announced: the Ambassador Award had a two-way tie between Effect Home Builders and Excel Homes, while the Innovation Award went to Carbon Wise, and Best Builders received the Transformational Award for their Phoenix House. The 2026 Mavericks are sponsored by title co-sponsors, Jayman BUILT and SkyFire Energy, alongside Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, Excel Homes and Alberta Real Estate Foundation.