Award

22 | J UNE 2017 Engineered Wood Products PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY WESTERN ARCHRIB wood as a viable option to steel and concrete for building construction. It's also important to have contractors on the project who are accustomed to working with wood construction." Another mass wood project of note is the new Mountain Equipment Co-Op store in Edmonton. "They did their roof system out of wood with CLT mass wood panels," says Koska. Western Archrib has created another landmark using Douglas fir glulam beams – the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre in Surrey, B.C. Innovative engineering created the longest span timber catenary roof ever constructed, featuring stun- ning lines of belt-curved glulam that are held in tension like a rope. "The length of the beams is approximately 180 feet," says Andre Lema, business development manager. "Applying wood as a tension member was part of the unique part of the building and that gave us a signature shape with a swooping roof. It also gives the height to accommodate a 10-metre diving board." Lema notes that the beams have a multiple coat polyurethane finish on the glulam with galvanized steel connections. "The most important aspect of this proj- ect is that between the contractor, ourselves, HCMA Architecture + Design and Fast + Epp structural engineers, it went together very well," he says. The centre is a des- tination training facility and a key venue for regional, national and international competitions. It also acts as an anchor for the surrounding community. For the design, Fast + Epp was honoured by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) at a ceremony in London, England. In the judges' delibera- tions, they "were struck by the undulating roof, which elegantly balances structural form with building use and celebrates the expressed materials." Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre, Surrey, B.C.

• Cover