COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Natural wood seems to glow from within when it is well-lit, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. A growing number of institutions are choosing wood construction for it's aesthetic appeal as well as it's practical advantages.

A COMPELLING OCULUS

The Charles Library at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Featuring one of the city’s largest green roofs, this 220,000-sq.ft. LEED Gold library serves as a central hub on campus. To impart an inviting, natural look, the design team chose a custom panelized linear wood system. Between the exterior and interior ceiling and wall applications, over 50,000-sq.ft. of linear Western red cedar panels were installed. The wood type was chosen for its versatility, aesthetic qualities and durability, which allows exterior use.

Three arched entrances lined with Western red cedar extend from the exterior into the lobby, where they open up into a three-storey domed atrium. The central dome features a curved oculus that allows light to filter into the lobby from the top floor. The oculus is the only area of the ceiling where the wood panels are not bent. The unique geometry for each of the domes was achieved by gently bending the 2x10-ft. wood panels and installing them in a custom curved framing system. The primary dome is a revolved ellipsoid, allowing it to be constructed of a limited number of different panels. The rest of the system is made of single-curvature geometries, using the sameshaped panel. While a high level of skill was required for installation, the key to successful completion was a precise panel manufacturing process and digital coordination with the framing contractor.

ARCHITECTS: Snøhetta/NY (design architect, landscape architect, interior architecture); Stantec/NY (architect of record, sustainability, LEED consultant, MEP engineering) STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: LERA Consulting Structural Engineers/New York, NY GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Daniel J. Keating Company/Narberth, PA IMAGES: Michael Grimm

COZY SHELTER

The Osler Bluff Ski Club, Town of The Blue Mountains, ON

A renovation and addition to a 1974 heavy timber and coreslab structure remedied several issues: overcrowded lunchtime seating, poor flow between the change rooms and social spaces, a deafening après-ski experience and no child-minding spaces. The original building also needed to be brought up to current health, accessibility and life safety standards. The design resolution focused on tying together the old and new structures, with an intent to capture the historic and beloved spirit of the existing heavy timber spaces. Carrying through an ethos of craft and timber construction, new Y-columns reinterpret the existing heavy timbers and are CNC-milled to mimic the soft profiles of hand-carved wood skis. A new Douglas fir acoustic ceiling runs through the entire project, acting as a primary surface in both the renovated and new areas, while dramatically reducing the decibel levels of public spaces. The ceiling aligns with the lower face of the existing timber frames, allowing a sprinkler system and lighting to be concealed.

The decision to reuse the existing clubhouse reduced the amount of waste, while using fewer materials and conserving the embedded carbon. Many of the existing solid Douglas fir timber frames were previously exposed to the exterior on one side, so each timber was assessed and repaired, and the accumulated weathering was left intact to preserve the memory of the old building line. Retaining the original structure allowed the spirit of the existing clubhouse to be maintained, while delivering what is essentially a new building.

ARCHITECT: Williamson Williamson/Toronto, ON STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Blackwell Engineering/Toronto, ON GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Upstream Construction/Caledon, ON IMAGES: doublespace

INDIGENOUS HEALING

Skeetchestn Health Centre, Savona, BC

Located about an hour west of Kamloops, this new health facility is managed by the Q’wemtsín Health Society to provide services for the Skeetchestn community a few minutes away. The building provides treatment spaces for both health administration staff and visiting health professionals, with two exam rooms, dental room, counseling rooms, immunization room, bathing room, fitness/physio room and a multipurpose community health room. The 5,434-sq.ft., one-storey building is wood framed on a concrete slab foundation. The front drop-off area is sheltered by a large overhang with a vertical grain Douglas fir (VG fir) soffit, supported by a sloped, V-shaped glulam column, which accentuates the dramatic wood canopy and ceiling inside the building. Parallel rectilinear wings are connected by the central public space that contains the entrance, reception, waiting area and community health room. The central space is fully glazed at the front and back, and the higher volume has clerestory glazing. The walls of the public space are faced with VG fir wood slats that also provide sound absorption. Wood is also used as an accent material, with naturally finished Douglas fir window sill trims and solid-core VG fir wood veneer doors. Wood was chosen because it has been used as a building material by the local First Nations for generations. The construction project also trained and employed local community members.

ARCHITECT: dk Architecture/North Vancouver, BC STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Fast + Epp/Vancouver, BC GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Ledcor Group/Vancouver, BC IMAGES: Martin Knowles

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

The Hotel Magdalena, Austin, TX

ARCHITECT: Lake|Flato Architects/San Antonio, TX STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: StructureCraft (timber superstructure)/ Abbotsford, BC; Architectural Engineers Collaborative (base building steel + concrete)/Austin, TX GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Mycon General Contractors/Dallas, TX IMAGES: Casey Dunn

With a prefabricated DLT floor and ceiling structure, this is the first mass timber boutique hotel in North America. The 100,000sq.ft. complex consists of four buildings, from two to six storeys, with mostly mass timber construction except for one hybrid structure that is cast-in-place concrete with steel. The design team chose mass timber to honor the history of the site, where The Austin Terrace Motor Hotel – previously torn down – was built in the 1950s. It had been constructed of exposed heavy timber beams and columns in the mid-century modern aesthetic. To help achieve sustainability goals, wood was selected as the primary structural material; by exposing the mass timber panels, the overall embodied energy for construction and finish material areas was greatly reduced. An equally important design goal was to enhance the outdoor experience for guests, with deeply shaded porches to encourage the use of common exterior spaces. A multi-storey timber walkway with gapped DLT walkway panels outside the hotel rooms was designed to accommodate the existing oak heritage trees on the site, which blend in with the structure.

The mass timber panels, structural walls and heavy timber porches were prefabricated offsite and installed by StructureCraft. Showcasing the mass timber panels and heavy timber structural components within the guest rooms and common areas ensures that wood becomes an integral component of the hotel experience. The hotel rooms are glazed on both sides (porch side and street side) to allow for natural light and cross ventilation. Acoustic design was also a key consideration. To meet the necessary STC/IIC ratings, a sound isolation mat was placed over the DLT panels along with a 3-in. concrete topping. To mitigate inter-room acoustic flanking which has caused issues in other mass timber residential projects, the stud party walls were lined with acoustic damping strips. Given the direct exposure of much exterior timber to the sun and weather, the decision was made to stain the surface of the gapped DLT panels with a “weathered” coating that would create a consistent grey color rather than the variegated tones that would occur with natural weathering. These coatings were all shop applied and preserved during shipping to save on both money and schedule, which would have been significant if applied on site. By exposing the wood structure to guests, the materials tell the story of how the structure was built while providing a warmer, more textured material in the guest rooms. The deeply shaded porches and outdoor terraces give guests of The Hotel Magdalena a unique experience, inviting them to gather in outdoor areas throughout the hotel.