TORONTO – BUSINESS – A select group of Ontario’s leading architects, engineers, and project teams received Wood Design Awards at the 15th annual Wood WORKS! celebration in Toronto tonight. The awards program recognizes people and organizations that, through design excellence, advocacy, and innovation, are advancing the use of wood in all types of construction.
“The winning projects of this year’s program showcase the many benefits of wood construction,” says Marianne Berube, executive director of the Ontario Wood WORKS! program. “All of these buildings were thoughtfully created with people in mind. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a large commercial building or a small residential addition, a performance hall or a bar. Wood is a sustainable, innovative, cost-effective building solution that can meet the needs of many projects.”
Ontario Wood WORKS! handed out twelve awards at the event; nine went to specific wood projects and three were given to professionals whose contributions to the design/build community made them stand out as wood design experts and advocates. Among the winning projects were the new St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market, Pointe Cabin, the Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts, and the inimitable Bar Raval.
Wood use is definitely on the rise, and not just because new code changes adopted earlier this year permit its use in a wider range of buildings. “There are many reasons for the increased use of wood,” explains Berube. “Wood has significant environmental advantages over competing materials and, in many applications, designers and developers are reporting significant time and cost savings. Prefabrication is also creating a lot of interesting new opportunities for wood construction, particularly in the mid-rise sector.”
Wood WORKS! is a national, industry-led initiative of the Canadian Wood Council that promotes and supports the use of wood in all types of construction. Working with the design community, Wood WORKS! connects practitioners with resources related to the use of wood in commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-unit residential construction, assists in product sourcing, and delivers educational seminars and training opportunities to existing and future practitioners.
2015 Ontario Wood WORKS! Award Winners
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Award |
Winner |
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Ontario Wood Award Sponsored by Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry |
Project: St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market (St. Jacobs, ON) Architect: Architecture Incorporated, Architect Engineer: Blackwell |
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Environmental Building Wood Design Award |
Project: Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre (Stouffville, ON) Architect and Engineer: Dialog
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Interior Wood Design Award |
Project: Bar Raval (Toronto, ON) Architect: PARTISANS |
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Residential Wood Design Award Sponsored by Ontario Wood Truss Fabricators Association |
Project: Pointe Cabin (Georgian, ON) Architect: superkül inc.
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Multi-Unit Wood Design Award Sponsored by Weyerhaeuser |
Project: Windows on the Green Condominium (Mississauga, ON) Architect: SMV Architects, Romanov and Romanov Engineer: RJC Engineering |
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Institutional- Commercial Wood Design Award < $10 M |
Project: Toronto Public Library, Scarborough Civic Centre Branch (Scarborough, ON) Architect: LGA Architectural Partners with Philip H. Carter Architect + Urban Planning Engineer: Blackwell |
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Institutional- Commercial Wood Design Award >$10 M Ontario Forest Industries Association |
Project: Gore Meadows Community Centre and Library, Phase 1 (Brampton, ON) Architect: ZAS Architects Engineer: Halcrow Yolles
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Northern Ontario Excellence Award Sponsored by FedNor |
Project: École Ste. Marguerite Bourgeoys, Kindergargen Addition (Kenora, ON) Architect: Nelson Architecture Engineer: Lavergne Draward and Associates |
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Jury’s Choice Award Sponsored byLP Building Products |
Project: Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts (Kingston, ON) Architect: N45 Architecture Engineer: Halsall |
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Engineer Wood Advocate Award Sponsored by FPInnovations |
Moses Structural Engineers (Toronto, ON)
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Architect Wood Advocate Award Sponsored by Timber Systems Ltd. |
Quadrangle Architects (Toronto, ON) |
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Wood Champion Award Sponsored by Natural Resources Canada |
Mike Seiling, Director of Building, City of Kitchener; Immediate Past President, Ontario Building Officials Association |
SOURCE Ontario Wood WORKS!
