VANCOUVER, March 9 /CNW/ - The results of the BC Wood WORKS! 2009 Wood
Design Awards competition show how wood can deliver everything from warmth and
beauty to leading-edge technological solutions - meeting the needs of any
project, large or small.
"We had a record number of nominations this year, and every one of them
could have been a winner," Mary Tracey, executive director of BC Wood WORKS!,
said Monday after the annual awards gala. "The range of winners was
astounding. Some projects, such as the Richmond Skating Oval and Ontario Art
Gallery, demonstrated highly advanced wood technology, and others, such as the
Tobiano Golf Clubhouse in Kamloops and Squamish Lil-wat Cultural Centre in
Whistler, showed off the amazing natural beauty of diverse wood products."
This is the fifth design competition hosted by BC Wood WORKS!, and the
record 110 nominations came from across the province as well as from outside
Canada. To be eligible, a project had to have been completed after January
2006 and before January 2009.
LMDG Consultants of Vancouver, which provides building code, fire code
and fire protection consulting services, was named Wood Champion for its work,
which has expanded the use of wood in many projects. Gary Crooks of Kelowna,
who recently retired as vice-president, southern operations of the Council of
Forest Industries, received the Industry Leader Award for his efforts in
helping British Columbia realize more benefits from wood production.
The Architect Award went to Shelley Craig of Urban Arts Architecture in
Vancouver, who has been actively involved in research related to the use of
wood in mid-rise residential construction. Equilibrium Consulting Inc. of
Vancouver won the Engineer Award for its use of advanced technology in work on
the expansion of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
The Green Building category, introduced in 2007, went to Renaissance
Architecture Planning Inc. of Kelowna for an open-air amphitheatre on the
shore of Lake Okanagan built with logs reclaimed after the 2003 Okanagan
Mountain Provincial Park wildfire.Winners in the wood design categories included:
- Helliwell+Smith-Blue Sky Architecture Inc. of West Vancouver for
Interior Beauty of Wood - Residential;
- Island Precision Manufacturing Ltd. of Victoria for Interior Beauty
of Wood - Commercial;
- Matthew Woodruff Architecture Inc. of Vancouver for Residential Wood
Design;
- B Squared Architecture Inc. of Vancouver for Multi-Unit Residential
Wood Design;
- alkla Architecture + Design of Squamish, B.C., for Commercial Wood
Design;
- Cannon Design/Fast+Epp Structural Engineers of Vancouver for
Institutional Design;
- D'Ambrosio Architecture and Urbanism of Victoria for Western Red
Cedar Award - Residential; and
- Alfred Waugh Architect of West Vancouver for Western Red Cedar -
Non-Residential."There is no doubt that the future for wood construction is strong, and
that's great news for British Columbia," said Tracey. "Every year, the gala
provides solid proof that wood is the most beautiful, versatile and
cost-effective building material on earth, and raises awareness of the
environmental and technological benefits of wood products."
Judges for the 2009 Wood Design Awards were Dr. Robert Kozak, professor,
Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia; Barry Downs, architect,
MAIBC, Downs Studio, West Vancouver; Bill Downing, president, Structurlam;
Oliver Neuman, assistant professor, School of Architecture and Landscape
Architecture, University of British Columbia, and Cy Loh, P.Eng., Vancouver.Editors: More detailed information about the winning entries is attached.
Photos of winning entries are available on request.
Background
BC Wood WORKS! 2009 Wood Design Awards Competition
Award WinnersWood Champion
LMDG Consultants of Vancouver was recognized as Wood Champion for an
innovative approach to achieving required fire resistance, which has expanded
the use of wood in many projects. LMDG, which provides building code, fire
code and fire protection consulting services, pioneered the use of wood in
Vancouver's transit stations and was involved with the design of the Richmond
Olympic Oval. The company is currently helping to design a four-storey,
all-timber structure for the Centre for Interactive Research in Sustainability
at the University of British Columbia.
Industry Leader Award
Gary Crooks of Kelowna, who retired from his position as vice-president,
southern operations of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) in 2008,
received the Industry Leader Award for his efforts in helping British Columbia
realize more benefits from wood production. Crooks has broad industry
experience ranging from operations management, marketing and sales, strategic
planning, industrial relations and communications. Before joining COFI in
2003, he worked with Fletcher Challenge, Georgia Pacific Corporation, Atco
Lumber and the Interior Lumber Manufacturers' Association.
Architect Award
Shelley Craig, MAIBC, of Urban Arts Architecture in Vancouver won the
Architect Award for ongoing support of research aimed at examining ways to
increase the amount of wood used in mid-rise residential construction. Craig
recently completed a research report, Expanded Demand for Canadian Wood
Products, which will fundamentally contribute to the growth of the wood
industry, yielding economic, environmental and social benefits. Urban Arts
received the Architectural Institute of British Columbia's 2008 Innovation
Award.
Engineer Award
Equilibrium Consulting Inc. of Vancouver won the Engineer Award for its
use of advanced technology in its work on the Art Gallery of Ontario -
Expansion and Renovation, completed in 2008. The challenging architectural
requirements and complex geometry required the use of advanced glulam CNC
technology and sophisticated and creative connection design. The result is a
landmark structure in downtown Toronto that showcases Canadian heritage
through the extensive use of wood in glulam structures, wood panel finishes
and wood flooring.
Interior Beauty of Wood - Residential
Helliwell+Smith-Blue Sky Architecture Inc. of West Vancouver for a
residence at Elma Bay near Black Creek, B.C., completed in 2008. Wood was the
natural choice for the interiors of this single-family home - with a roof made
from Douglas fir glulam beams and rafters; a structural window system and
frame and panel doors made with edge grain Douglas fir; and flooring and
millwork components made with eastern cherry.
Interior Beauty of Wood - Commercial
Island Precision Manufacturing Ltd. of Victoria for the Vancouver
Conference Centre Expansion Project, completed in 2008. More than 100,000
square feet of hemlock wall paneling and 9,000 laminate Douglas fir ceiling
beams were installed. The unique wall detail creates the head-on impression of
stacked, odd-length two-by-fours, while a smooth series of panels on
perpendicular walls resemble the side view of a tower of lumber. Island
Precision developed an innovative automated assembly process to manufacture
the panels to the tight tolerances and in the huge quantities required.
Residential Wood Design
Matthew Woodruff Architecture Inc. of Vancouver for a residence on Mayne
Island, completed in 2007. The Douglas fir glulam structure allows for a
continuous band of clerestory windows, eliminating the need for artificial
light during the day and facilitating passive solar in winter. The key design
elements are 10 clear, vertical grain Douglas fir French doors, which provide
passive cooling throughout the house.
Multi-Unit Residential Wood Design
B Squared Architecture Inc. of Vancouver for an 18-unit row house
development in the Kitsilano district of Vancouver, completed in 2008. Wood
framing was fast and economical for this 28,000-square-foot multi-family
residence with 32 underground parking stalls. The structure includes wood
cladding, open wood slat stairs, engineered wood flooring and dark wood veneer
millwork in the kitchens and bathrooms.
Commercial Wood Design
alkla Architecture + Design of Squamish, B.C., for the Tobiano Golf
Clubhouse in Kamloops, B.C., completed in 2008. The 11,000-square-foot
clubhouse, with a bar, restaurant, offices and pro shop, used fir structurally
on the exterior as posts, beams and roof purlins, and as cladding near the
entrance. Wood in the interior provides continuity to the structure, and
warmth. A golf maintenance building near the clubhouse also used wood for
warmth and elegance.
Institutional Design
Cannon Design/Fast+Epp Structural Engineers of Vancouver for the Richmond
Olympic Oval, completed in 2008 and a signature venue of the 2010 Winter
Olympic Games. The building's superstructure is constructed almost entirely
from wood, and the unique, innovative wood wave roof system design features
hollow, triangular-shaped composite wood-steel arches, which span
approximately 100 metres and conceal mechanical, electrical and plumbing
services.
Green Building Award
Renaissance Architecture Planning Inc. of Kelowna for the Okanagan
Mountain Fire Pavilion, an open-air amphitheatre located on Bertram Creek Park
on the shore of Lake Okanagan in Kelowna, completed in 2007. The
7,000-square-foot structure has 11 roof sections made of Englemann spruce
beams and purlins sourced and milled locally, and supported by peeled
lodgepole pine logs reclaimed from the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park
fire.
Western Red Cedar Award - Residential
D'Ambrosio Architecture and Urbanism of Victoria for the Richmond Gate
Residences in Saanich, B.C., completed in 2008. The 5,524-square-metre
residential complex (two four-storey apartment buildings and six two-storey
townhouses) used western red cedar siding for durability and appearance.
Western red cedar was also used for window sills, trim and casing, garden
trellises and pergola structures, and the apartment lobby has clear-stained
cedar siding.
Western Red Cedar - Non-Residential
Alfred Waugh Architect of West Vancouver for the Squamish Lil'wat
Cultural Centre in Whistler, phase 1 was completed in 2008. This world-class
First Nation cultural centre uses western red cedar in the interior wall
finish and exterior cladding. The use of wood for the project supports a
locally renewable and energy-efficient natural resource, and carries the
memory of how First Peoples are traditionally connected to the land.
For further information: Mary Tracey, Executive Director, BC Wood
WORKS!, mtracey@wood-works.ca or (877) 929-9663 ext 1
