Canadian architecture is jumping on board the recent trend toward wooden structures.
Newly-developed engineering processes have revolutionised the use of timber in structures, making it hardier and far more workable than ever before for large-scale urban development.
Now, the Wood Design Awards at the 12th annual Ontario Wood Works! awards program recognizes those architects who show the best the new trend has to offer. The Toronto-based awards night is described by executive direction Marianna Berube as a celebration of the evolution of wood-based architecture.
“These are exciting times for wood design,” says Berube. “Ongoing technical advancement in the forest product and construction industries, alongside creative design thinking, is giving rise to an incredible new generation of wood buildings.”
The awards program presented awards in categories including the Ontario Wood Award, Green Building Wood Design Award, Interior Design Wood Award, Residential, multi-unit and many more.
Winners include J.L Richards & Associates and Perkins + Will. who collaborated on Vale Living with Lakes Centre at Laurentian University in Sudbury. The centre took home the Green Building Wood Design Award.
According the designers, the 2,600 square metre structure, fitted with wood-framed walls and solid wood flooring and decking, is 70 per cent more energy efficient than its conventional counterparts.
Fellow award winners superkül were also recognized for the +House in the town of Mulmur. The residential dwelling has taken home the award for Residential Wood Design for its low environmental impact, and locational contextualisation in rural Ontario.
Further winners include:
- The Inovo Centre by PBK Architects
- The Metropolitan Pharmacy by JET Architecture
- The 360 Lofts condominium by Farrow Dreessen Architect
- The Kingston Park revitalization by Brown and Storey Architects
- The District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board office by FORM Architecture
- The Water garden pavilion by Brook Mcllroy
- The Gathering Circle at the Spirit Garden by Brooke Mcllroy and Ryan Gorrie
Berube said that while the awards celebrate wood-driven designs, recognition and promotion of sustainability is also a key part of the program, with the modern reinterpretation of wood materials offering to further green building efforts.
“Design and construction solutions that incorporate sustainably sourced wood products support forest industry employment in the province, significantly lower the carbon footprint of any building, reduce our dependence on non-renewable materials and fossil fuels, and provide warm, beautiful, human-centered environments,” she said.
