The VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia, was founded in 1971; doors opened to the public in 1975. By the year 2000, two existing buildings, the Floral Hall and the Garden Pavilion, were seeing much wear and the Garden’s entrance needed higher visibility. There was also a desire to attract more visitors and reach out to a younger demographic. Changes were needed. In keeping with existing buildings on the site which were built of heavy timber construction, any new building would also use a wood-based construction system. It seemed the most appropriate choice for a natural garden setting.

The Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre (Education Centre) was planned and built to educate residents of the Regional Municipality of York about the importance of natural resources and forest ecosystems. The Regional Municipality of York, located on the Oak Ridges Moraine between Toronto and Lake Simcoe, includes the York Regional Forest, which is internationally recognized as a leader in site restoration and forest management, and is the first public forest in Canada to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Constructed of wood and accented with stone, the Education Centre reflects the materials of the surrounding forest. The use of wood in the design was integral to the building’s performance and appropriate to its function as a forest education centre.

The Town of Banff is located in Banff National Park, Canada’s first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to over 8,700 residents and greets more than three million visitors from around the world each year. Constructed in 1958, the town’s recreation centre was in dire need of improvement—the roof of the curling rink was considered to be deficient, the hockey rink locker rooms were no longer adequate, the ice refrigeration piping system needed replacement, and additional skating space was needed. The solution was a combination of demolition and reconstruction, refurbishment, and new construction. Completed in 2011 to the LEED® Silver standard, the redeveloped Banff Recreation Centre has a new curling rink, a refurbished hockey arena, a new NHL-sized hockey arena, and new meeting rooms, lounges and a concourse. The new construction uses wood and glass to provide views of the mountains, while providing superior thermal performance.

CentrePlace Manitoba was commissioned by the Province of Manitoba, with a goal of creating a temporary Olympic pavilion that represented the energy of the province and its people while reinforcing its commitment to sustainability. Designed as a dynamic, uniquely Manitoban architectural statement that transcends the “white fabric tent”, the 232 m² (2500 square foot) pavilion was initially showcased at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games as both an interactive exhibit space and as a venue for business and cultural receptions.

The design concept was initiated through a visioning session in June 2009 where Manitobans from diverse backgrounds came together to discuss what best represented the province they called home. The recurring themes drawn from this session gave the design team their starting point of creating an inviting space that drew upon the spirit and nature of the people of Manitoba. The simple contrast of wood and light became the basis for the creation of a pavilion that would become a beacon, welcoming visitors through a generous front porch and an oversized pivoting door.

The design team met client design objectives by making a number of strategic decisions to ensure that the project would showcase the province’s commitment to sustainability and provide a legacy building that would serve beyond the pavilion’s initial five-week purpose. One of the key objectives was to ensure Universal Design and Access. To achieve all these design requirements, CentrePlace Manitoba had to:

utilize Manitoba labour and regional materials

offer an interactive exhibit space showcasing Manitoba’s unique culture

be efficient in material use and energy consumption

be compact, transportable, and 100% reusable at a future site

favour passive systems over dedicated ones