Innovative architectural and structural design in large wood buildings, including mid-rise and commercial structures, headlined the 2015 Wood Design Awards event at the Vancouver Convention Centre (West). The 11th annual event, organized and hosted by Wood WORKS! BC, honoured excellence in wood building and design, and recognized leadership and innovation in wood use. More than 360 people attended this year’s celebration of wood, including architects, structural engineers, project teams, local government and industry sponsors.
Wood WORKS! is a national industry-led program of the Canadian Wood Council, with a goal to support innovation and provide leadership on the use of wood and wood products. Wood WORKS! BC provides education, training and technical expertise to building and design professionals involved with projects throughout BC, and is a resource on mid-rise construction and the Wood First Act in BC.
There were 107 nominations in 12 categories from all over the province, as well as an international nomination of a BC project by a New York-based designer. All projects showcase distinctive and unique qualities of wood such as strength, beauty, versatility, and cost-effectiveness.
Lynn Embury-Williams is executive director of Wood WORKS! BC. “Each and every one of these projects is spectacular in its own right, and demonstrates how wood can be used in innovative ways as an architectural and structural building material,” explained Ms. Embury-Williams. “Wood products and systems have become the material of choice in mid-rise residential as well as for the institutional, commercial and industrial sectors. This is a paradigm shift, and it’s encouraging, as our communities and cities want more sustainable and healthier built environments. Here in BC, designers and builders are leading the way by using wood because it is cost-effective; is renewable; has a smaller carbon footprint; and because it creates beautiful and comfortable spaces where people love to live and work.”
The panel of four judges included Paul Newman, Executive Director, Market Access and Trade, Council of Forest Industries, Vancouver, BC; Thomas Tannert, PhD, P.Eng., Associate Chair Wood Building Design and Construction, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Elsa Lam, BES, MArch II, PhD, MRAIC, Editor, Canadian Architect Magazine, Toronto, Ontario; and Don Lovell, Architect AIBC, CD, M.Arch. (Retired), Victoria, BC.
The Wood Champion Award was presented to Marie-Odile Marceau, Principal, McFarland Marceau Architects Ltd. in Vancouver. Ms. Marceau has a long and distinguished architectural career in both the public and private sectors. Her portfolio of sensitive and profound school projects in many First Nations communities has provided a lasting and significant positive learning impact on the students and communities alike.
Eric Karsh, Principal, Equilibrium Consulting Inc. in Vancouver, was awarded the Engineer Award. Known and respected internationally, he shows his love of using wood through innovative structural designs such as the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) “tilt up” balloon frame construction in his project, Ronald McDonald House BC – a first in North America. This is a system combining the convenience of concrete with the advantages of wood.
The Architect Award was presented to Vancouver-based Michael Green Architecture. This firm is always working on the next extraordinary wood structure, and has an impressive line-up of projects ranging from airports in Prince George and Ottawa, to a landmark social welfare facility fashioned from CLT. The recently-completed Wood Innovation and Design Centre, the tallest contemporary wood structure in North America, demonstrates economical and repeatable technologies for building high-rise structures with timber.