Award

Wood Innovation and Design Centre J UNE 2015 | 43 Engineered Wood Products This trend is sure to inspire some creativity. "EWPs and mass timber panel systems will allow building design to go bigger and taller than ever before, while creating more unique and contemporary structures," says Embury-Williams. "Ten years ago, the buildings nominated for wood design awards were much smaller and conventional. Now, they are taller, bigger, more complex and clearly demonstrate both the burgeon- ing expertise of the design teams and the capabilities of EWPs." Lema agrees, adding, "What seems to be happen- ing now is that designers are finding new and creative ways to use what the industry is offering. Projects are becoming larger and the scope of engineered wood has also grown." EWP manufacturer Structurlam is no stranger to the possibilities of this material – it was the heavy timber supplier for all the winners of the 2014 Wood WORKS! BC design awards. The company combines advanced technologies such as 3D modelling and robotic machinery with new engineered wood prod- ucts like CLT, which help designers use wood in larger and more complex structures. "The addition of CLT as a competitive product to concrete has opened up new opportunities in commercial construction," says Bill Downing, Structurlam's president. The biggest industry trend in Canada this year may well have been the introduction of cross laminated timber (CLT), argues Chris Whelan, business devel- opment manager for Henkel Corporation, and Canada is leading the way in North America with this new technology. "We've had a two year head-start over the U.S., and now there's a lot of interest," he says. "There are six universities in the U.S that are evaluating CLT. That was where Canada was five years ago, and now we have two manufacturing sites in Canada and there's a possibility of one or two in the U.S. starting up in the next year, so that's going to be their first step over." The U.S. government has even introduced financial incentives for anyone who can introduce the tallest wood building. "They're trying to stimulate the use of wood for taller buildings. It's more sustainable, and they want to kick-start the lumber industry with new, innovate products." The current push to include CLT into engineering and building codes here in Canada means many more CLT structures will be popping up in the future. The 2015 National Building Code of Canada is expected to allow mixed-use mid-rise wood construction – CLT will be uti- lized on the first two floors, in place of concrete, while the top four floors will include conventional EWPs. "B.C. has led the way with innovative large struc- tures in recent years," says Embur y-Williams. VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre, UBC's Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability and Earth Sciences Building, and the Surrey Memorial Hospital Critical Care Tower are a few examples of stun- ning structures that utilize wood-frame construction creatively. The high-profile Guildford Aquatic Centre in Surrey – designed by Bing Thom Architects and Shape Architecture – was built primarily with laminated PHOTOGRAPHY BY EMA PETER PHOTOGRAPHY/COURTESY WOOD DESIGN AWARDS IN BC/WOOD WORKS! BC

• Cover