Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Winning architects, structural engineers and project teams enthral and inspire at 2013 BC Wood Design Awards – multiply



VANCOUVER, March 4, 2013 /CNW/ - Coastal BC swept the 2013 Wood WORKS! BC Wood Design Awards, with projects of the winning architects and structural engineers located in and around Vancouver and the Gulf Islands, including three projects on the UBC campus.
More than 350 distinguished design and building professionals, including architects, engineers, project teams, industry sponsors and guests gathered this evening to honour the nominees and winners of the 2013 Wood WORKS!BC Wood Design Awards. The 9th annual awards evening at the Vancouver Convention Centre (West) recognized leadership and innovation in wood use while being an opportunity to publicly salute and celebrate continued excellence in the building and design community.
There were 98 nominations in 12 categories for the 2013 awards from all over the province, as well as some national and international submissions, including one by a BC architect for a project located in Tajikistan and another in the Yukon. "We are truly amazed by both the structural and architectural uses of wood; we are seeing innovation beyond anything we could have imagined a decade ago," explained Wood WORKS! BC executive director Mary Tracey.  "Builders and designers have always embraced wood for its beauty and sustainability, and now with technological advances in wood products, they are recognizing it as a building material that offers them opportunities to create distinctive and expressive projects because of its remarkable versatility, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The project teams are exploring wood's potential and advancing the science and art of wood design and building which are the goals of our awards program."
The panel of five judges included Henry Hawthorn, Architect (retired); Tom Guenther, P.Eng. Chair - Civil Engineering Department, Okanagan College; Douglas MacLeod, Ph.D., MRAIC, Chair - RAIC Centre for Architecture, Athabasca University; Thomas Tannert, Ph.D. Associate Chair - Wood Building Design and Construction, UBC; and Dwight Yochim, RPF, Executive Director -Truck Loggers Association.
The Wood Champion Award was presented to Vancouver-based and internationally renowned structural consulting engineering firm, Equilibrium Consulting. Its principals, Eric Karsh and Robert Malczyk were chosen for their work on such projects as City of North Vancouver Civic Centre Renovation and Prince George Airport. Founded in 1998, this firm has been successfully involved in over 800 projects world-wide, including many award-winning designs. The BC architect who nominated this firm for the 2013 Wood Champion Award had this to say about Equilibrium Consulting: "As architects that are fascinated by structure, we ask a lot of them in pushing the limits of wood technology. They always deliver for us and have helped us create some very unique technical solutions. Their ability to resource solutions from Europe and adapt them to Canada has been exemplary for improving the wood design industry as a whole". Elegant solutions with brilliant engineering are the hallmarks of this esteemed firm.
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