This issue of Wood Design & Building is, in many ways, about relationships. Relationships between materials and place, between education and practice, and between forestry and the built environment. And perhaps most importantly, the relationships being built by the people at all points along the path from forest to finished building who are sharing their knowledge, experience and passion for wood buildings.

That exchange of knowledge is strengthening confidence, capability, and collaboration throughout the design and construction community. In our interview with Dr. Blériot Feujofack, Education Manager at the Canadian Wood Council, we explore how new learning opportunities and accessible industry knowledge are helping prepare the next generation of designers and builders.

In Lloyd Alter’s article, A Treehugger Goes Logging, we are reminded that building with wood also means understanding where the material comes from and appreciating the depth of knowledge required to manage forests sustainably. By sharing perspectives across forestry, manufacturing, and construction, the article highlights the people and practices that shape the material long before it reaches the built environment.

That spirit of collaboration and shared learning is also reflected in our featured projects. In Saskatoon, the misiwe-kisik | One Sky school demonstrates how a project team’s commitment to doing something special for the community helped foster the collaboration and innovation required to use century-old, reclaimed nail-laminated timber from decommissioned grain elevators. The project’s Cree name, reflecting connection, belonging, and relationship across communities, feels equally fitting for a sector increasingly shaped by collaboration and shared ambition.

What makes this moment remarkable is not only what we are building, but how we are learning to build it together.

This issue of Wood Design & Building explores how intentional design can carry culture, support community, and foster connection. The projects featured here demonstrate how a clear vision can transform a building into an environment grounded in purpose, identity, and care, reflecting both people and place.

Several projects in this issue centre Indigenous perspectives and priorities. The Membertou First Nation office building, the Weliankweyasimk Women’s Shelter, and the Chief Leonard George residential building each reflect cultural knowledge, respond to community needs, and create spaces of safety, continuity, and belonging.

Wood is a consistent presence throughout. Long associated with shelter and refuge, it is also a material of gathering, warmth, and shared experience. It is no coincidence that projects grounded in human wellbeing so often turn to wood. This connection is present in many cultures. Our WoodWare feature on FinnFox, for example, highlights the part wooden saunas play supporting health and building community in Nordic (and Canadian) sauna culture.

At the same time, building with wood is not simply a return to the past. While it reconnects us with cultural knowledge and longstanding practices, it also reflects a growing recognition of wood as a high-performance, renewable material for contemporary construction. This is evident in the Chief Leonard George Building, Canada’s first tall mass timber residential building constructed to the Passive House standard. It demonstrates how thoughtful wood design can both preserve cultural continuity and point toward the future of high-performance, low-carbon construction.