Buildings in Kenora and Temagami First Nation were among the winners of the 2019 Ontario Wood Design Awards, an initiative of the Canadian Wood Council’s Ontario Wood WORKS! program.
The new terminal at the Kenora Airport and the multi-use facility on the Temagami First Nation were named two of the six winning projects during the Feb. 26 Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA) conference in Toronto.
“The winning projects reflect the sophistication of an evolving wood culture that is gaining momentum in Ontario,” said Marianne Berube, executive director for the Ontario Wood WORKS! Program, in a news release.
“We’re happy to partner with OFIA this year to recognize the design and construction teams that are pushing the boundaries of innovation for wood construction.”
In Kenora, the airport terminal building was acknowledged in the Low-Rise Commercial Wood Design category.
Opened in 2018, the 10,915-square-foot building was designed by Architecture49 Inc., while WSP Canada Ltd. served as the structural engineer.
The design includes timber posts in the structure, glulam beam and laminated strand timber (LST) wood joist on the first floor, along with glulam canopies for its exterior.
Ontario Wood WORKS! lauded the use of wood as a structural element, which is uncommon for aviation terminal designs, as well as the use of roof and floor joists that were manufactured right in Kenora.
Temagami First Nation’s multi-use facility in Bear Island won in the Northern Ontario Wood Design Award category.
The project design team consisted of Laroque Elder Architects, Architectes Inc. and A2S Consulting Engineers.
Completed in November 2019, the building has 16,469 square feet, and is comprised of a wood superstructure, including stick-framed wood walls, engineered wood built-up beams, glulam beams, wood i-joists and wood trusses, along with steel columns and steel trusses.
The floor and roof systems were constructed with pre-engineered wood roof trusses and a steel truss in the gathering room.
The facility, which is used both as a municipal building and for community gatherings and rituals, is influenced by the techniques and materials used by Temagami First Nation in the creation of birch bark canoes.
Ontario Wood WORKS! is a program of the Canadian Wood Council whose goal is to increase the use of wood in construction projects and create awareness of its benefits by showcasing unique wood projects in Canada.
