Award

December 2013

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I In some ways, the architectural woodworking sector is CalPERS headquarters expansion, Sacramento, CA, features one of the biggest wall panelling projects (80,000 square feet) completed in North America. Photo: Mid Canada Millwork. one of the more vulnerable of the building trades. During downtimes it's usually the first to suffer and during good times its practitioners still encounter clients who are reluctant to invest in extravagance and instead try to cut corners. But 2013 finds many well-established firms in a slightly different light. "I would characterize our market in Western Canada as undergoing a slow but steady recovery," says Greg Hesketh, president of Towne Millwork Ltd. "On the one hand there isn't a huge surge in jobs, but on the other the architects are designing projects within budget and there's no nickeland-diming going on – at least as far as my company is concerned." The same holds true across the country in Ontario. "The economy seems to have finally turned in a decisive way and we're involved in a real mixed bag of stuff, from private residences to restaurants and retail," says Richard Reynolds, founder and president of R&R Woodwork. Hesketh says, "The market is such that the competition has intensified for smaller jobs at the $200,000 to $300,000 mark, but decreased for bigger projects. Companies with a long track record of good work are being sought, which is what's happening with us." Reynolds agrees and adds, "The true custom guys like us are by Robin Brunet doing extremely well in Ontario, but for the kitchen type of woodworking companies it's dog eat dog." More than ever, providing quality workmanship is vital and many of the best companies exhibit a boutique mindset in their approach to work. A case in point is Premiere Woodworking. Premiere's small staff creates custom wooden exterior doors and kitchen cabinet designs with an emphasis on employing old-world techniques and standards. For example, Premiere's exterior doors are assembled using independent floating panels to protect the door from cracking, warping and water damage. Only carefully selected, acclimatized, premium solid lumber is used in order to reduce and minimize seasonal expansion. Every detail is taken into account, from wood type and stain, to glass inlay, to height, hand carving and hardware. Mid Canada Millwork (MCM) emphasizes its commitment to sustainable forestry and green building. The company is fully certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. It uses only formaldehyde-free core materials whenever possible, controls emissions at its central processing plant and disposes solid waste appropriately. But again, the provision of old-world quality is the main reason why MCM is highly-sought after and why some of its more prominent projects include the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center featuring over 70,000 square feet of wall panelling and custom millwork in every room, along with architectural casework, plastic laminate casework and custom solid surfaces. Equal attention to detail went into the $4.5-million millwork package for the CalPERS headquarters expansion in Sacramento, a LEED Gold certified project that included one of the biggest wall panelling projects (80,000 square feet) completed in North America. Branching Out Custom architectural woodwork is experiencing a notable upsurge in business e Architectural Woodwork At R&R, Reynolds' team of 17 craftsmen have been exercising their skill in various Forest Hill residences, a neighbourhood Reynolds characterizes as "where tear-downs are worth $3-million. Frankly, it's fun working for people who think money is no object." R&R also created the built-ins for each suite of the new 55-storey Four Seasons Hotel Toronto designed by Union31. Years ago, Hesketh decided to secure woodworking jobs in the U.S. to counter fluctuations in the local economy, and this year his crews are enjoying a notable upsurge in business south of the border. "People are building like crazy in the commercial sector," he says. "We've just finished a job in Alaska; two big jobs are pending in California; and there's lots of work in Oregon coming up." Activity on the home front is at an acceptable level and Hesketh credits the government's commitment to the Wood First Initiative for helping foster the use of B.C. wood products. While one tends to associate prowood initiatives as endemic to Western Canada, Nordic Engineered Wood of Quebec recently supplied its extensive range of wooden high joists, Glulam beams and X-LAM cross-laminated timber (the latter composed of cross-wise glued-laminated black spruce boards, resulting in a material high in resistance and stiffness that can easily substitute steel or concrete) to a landmark project in Quebec City: the recently-completed six-storey all-wood District 03 condominium. The project used more than 1,000 cubic metres of CLT as well as 143 cubic metres of Glulam products, manufactured at Nordic's plant in Chibougamau. Nordic acted as consulting architects and structural engineers on the 53-unit District 03, which was originally designed as a concrete structure but put on hold due to unsuitable site conditions (at one-sixth the weight of concrete, CLT was a viable solution). Nordic representatives say that with over 1,200 tons of carbon encapsulated in the wood components, District 03 is effectively a carbon-negative project. "We now have the technology to compete with traditional ways of construction," says Nicholas Angleys, Nordic's marketing advisor. "Thanks to projects such as District 03, people are now looking at timber as a structural solution, not just decoration." Although Angleys admits it will take some time and effort before projects like District 03 become commonplace, he's confident that wood will eventually become the product of choice for many architects and builders. "People are beginning to appreciate that while the manufacture of substances like concrete release massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, wood – such as the black spruce we use – is actually sequestered carbon," he says. "Moreover from a practical level, our X-LAM is a solid timber panel that can be used to make walls, floors and even ceilings. With versatility like this, it seems inevitable that wood as a building material will grow in popularity." n december 2013    /37 12-10-29 1:49 PM p26-37Concrete_Arch wood.indd 37 13-11-15 3:41 PM

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