When South Coast building contractors honored their own this week, Dennis Allen and Allen Associates came up the big winners.

Not only was Allen named builder of the year by the Santa Barbara Contractors Association, but his company won four other awards given Monday night at the group's annual dinner: best residential remodeling for less than $250,000; best best residential remodeling for between $250,000 and $750,000; best landscape and "hardscape" (exterior stone, concrete and similar work); and best "green" (environmentally friendly) building.

The chairman of the awards committee, Scott Miners of Melchiori Construction, said Allen's projects stood out on their merits, but also for the stylish presentation of each contest entry.

"He just wowed the judges with the size of the projects and the craftsmanship and the complexities," Miners said.

"We were totally surprised about the builder of the year," Allen said. He speculated that his company was chosen because of "our solid record of quality and integrity with our clients...and our leadership in the green building area."

His most satisfying project in the past year, he noted, was one of his smaller ones, the residential remodeling job for under $250,000.

"We'll do projects of all sizes and put our heart into every one. I think that's an important approach to building," he said.

The increasing popularity of environmentally conscious construction methods is particularly important, he added, because it indicates that people are "trying to build in ways that are going to keep our community sustainable and livable on a human scale." ... <end>