At the same time as a trend towards sustainability is bringing increased focus on the age-old building medium of wood, recent changes to the Ontario Building Code have eased some restrictions on wood frame construction. To celebrate the growing importance of wood in modern city building, the Canadian Wood Council held their 17th annual Wood WORKS! Awards yesterday evening at the Delta Toronto, bringing together architects, engineers, developers and other construction industry professionals working with wood design and construction, as well as advocacy groups promoting the benefits of building and designing with wood.

12 awards were presented at the industry-led event, with the majority—ten awards—going to projects, and the remaining two handed out to individuals for their contributions to the advancement of wood construction in the building industry.

A full list of the dozen winners is included below:

Ontario Wood Award 

Story Pod
Newmarket, ON
Architect: Atelier Kastelic Buffey Inc.

Story Pod, image by Shai Gil/Bob Gundu

 

Environmental Building Award

Active House
Etobicoke, ON
Developer: Great Gulf
Architect: superkül
Structural Engineer: Quaile Engineering

Active House, image by Igor Yu

 

Interior Wood Design Award

Lazaridis Hall, Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, ON
Architect: Diamond Schmitt Architects
Associate Architect: David Thompson Architect Ltd.
Structural Engineer: VanBoxmeer & Stranges Engineering Ltd.

Lazaridis Hall, Wilfrid Laurier University, image by Doublespace Photography

  

Residential Wood Design Award 

House on Ancaster Creek
Ancaster, ON
Architect: Williamson Williamson Inc.
Structural Engineer: Blackwell, Faet Lab

House on Ancaster Creek, image by Ben Rahn / A-Frame

 

Mid-Rise Wood Design Award 

Lake House Condominiums
Grimsby, ON
Developer: Branthaven Homes
Architect: Kirkor Architects + Planners
Engineer: Tacoma Engineers Inc.

Lakehouse Condos, image courtesy of Branthaven Homes

 

Institutional Wood Design Award < $10 M 

St. David Catholic Elementary School
Sudbury, ON
Architect: Yallowega Bélanger Salach Architecture
Engineer: A2S Associates Limited

St. David Catholic Elementary School, image by Blaine Nicholls

 

Institutional Wood Design Award >$10 M

McEwen School of Architecture
Sudbury, ON
Architect: LGA Architectural Partners
Engineer: AECOM

McEwen School of Architecture, image by Bob Gundu

 

Commercial Wood Design Award 

Ontario Wood Pavilion – IDS 2017
Toronto, ON
Architect: blackLAB architects inc.
Engineer: Moses Structural Engineers

Ontario Wood Pavilion – IDS 2017, image by blackLAB architects inc

  

Northern Ontario Excellence Award 

Carpenters’ Union Local 1669 Training Centre
Thunder Bay, ON
Architect/Engineer: FORM Architecture Engineering

Carpenters’ Union Local 1669 Training Centre, image by Nicholas Bava, FORM Architecture Engineering

Jury’s Choice Award

The National Arts Centre Rejuvenation
Ottawa, ON
Architect: Diamond Schmitt Architects
Engineer: Fast + Epp

The National Arts Centre Rejuvenation, image by Doublespace Photography

Designer / Builder Award

Pratt Homes
Barrie, ON

Wood Champion Award

Tad Putyra
President and COO, Great Gulf Low-Rise; President, H+ME Technology
Toronto, ON

Marianne Berube, executive director of the Ontario Wood WORKS! program followed the ceremony with the statement, “It is our privilege to celebrate Ontario’s wood design leaders through the Wood Design Award program. Wood is an extraordinary building material, as you can see from the projects that received awards tonight."

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