Wood Council releases 2024 Design & Building award winners

Key Takeaways:

• The 40th annual Wood Design & Building Awards celebrated 33 projects globally, highlighting outstanding architectural work that emphasizes wood as a sustainable and versatile material for construction.
• Patkau Architects and hcma architecture + design were prominent winners, with Patkau’s Arbour House receiving multiple awards and hcma’s projects being recognized for innovative uses of wood in community spaces.
• Organizers say the awards reflect a growing interest in biomaterials and sustainable building practices, underscoring the importance of wood in creating low-carbon, high-performance structures that contribute to environmentally friendly construction.

The Whole Story:

The Canadian Wood Council has announced the winning projects of the 40th annual Wood Design & Building Awards program. The awards program recognizes and celebrates the outstanding work of architectural professionals from around the world who achieve excellence in wood design and construction.

“We’re proud to recognize leading innovators in wood design through our awards program,” says Martin Richard, Vice President of Communications and Market Development at the Canadian Wood Council. “This year’s submissions were remarkable in their scope, quality, and variety. They reflect a rising interest in biomaterials and highlight the importance of wood as a versatile, low-carbon, high-performance material, driving the next generation of sustainable buildings.”

Patkau Architects and hcma architecture + design were standout firms in the awards. Patkau, with their Arbour House project in Victoria, won multiple accolades, including an Honor award and recognition in the WoodWorks BC category. Meanwhile, hcma architecture + design won two awards in the WoodWorks BC category for the Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre and the təməsew̓tx Aquatic and Community Centre, highlighting their innovative use of wood in public spaces.

The jurors for the Wood Design & Building Awards were:

• Marlon Blackwell, Principal at Marlon Blackwell Architects
• Veronica Madonna, Director and Principal at Studio VMA
• Alfred Waugh, Principal at Formline Architecture + Urbanism

A total of 19 winning projects from a diverse group of creators were selected from the impressive field of entries.

New this year, the regional WoodWorks program awards from Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta were integrated with the Wood Design & Building Awards.

The jurors for the WoodWorks awards were:

• Duncan Bourke, Vice President of Development at Cityflats
• Melissa Higgs, Principal at hcma
• Steve Oosterhof, Partner and Structural Engineer at Dialog

Fifteen winning projects were selected, with five from each regional program. The creativity and talent of these winning teams, as well as the beauty and diversity of their wood projects, are transforming the built environment.

In total, 33 award winners from around the globe were celebrated for excellence in wood design at the Wood Design and Building Awards celebration hosted at the WoodWorks Summit on October 22, 2024.

Complete list of winning projects:

Honor

• Arbour House (Victoria, BC) | Patkau Architects
• Hilltop Cottage (NB) | MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd.
• Mohegan Trail (Block Island, RI, USA) | Bates Masi + Architects
• The Nest (Bayfield County, WI, USA) | SALA Architects, Inc.
• Prepared Rehmannia Root Crafts Exhibition Hall (Houyanmen Village, , Henan Province, China | Luo Studio
• Wisdome Stockholm (Stockholm, Sweden) | Elding Oscarson Architect

Merit

• Covered ice rink in Saint-Apollinaire (Saint-Apollinaire, QC) | ABCP architecture et urbanisme
• Cheko’nien House (Victoria, BC) | Perkins&Will
• House In A Garden (Coconut Grove, , FL, USA) | Atelier Mey Architects
• Quantum Institute (Sherbrooke, QC) | Saucier + Perrotte

Citation

• Cunard Street Live / Work / Grow (Halifax, NS) | FBM
• Des Cerisiers Elementary School (Maskinongé, QC) | Lucie Paquet architecte, Paulette Taillefer architecte, Leclerc architectes
• LP Hotel with a View (Lodeynoe Pole, Russian Federation) | RHIZOME

Sansin Sponsored Awards

• Galien River Retreat (New Buffalo, MI, USA) | Wheeler Kearns Architects
• Arbour House (Victoria, BC) | Patkau Architects

Sustainable Forestry Initiative Sponsored Award

• 619 Ponce (Atlanta, GA) | Handel Architects

Western Red Cedar Sponsored Award

• Bunkie on the Hill (Muskoka, ON | Dubbeldam Architecture + Design

Wood Preservation Sponsored Award

• #Ferndale_Flightdeck (Ottawa, ON) | 25:8 Architecture + Urban Design

WoodWorks Ontario Category

• Bunkie on the Hill (Muskoka, ON | Dubbeldam Architecture + Design
• Centennial College A-Building Expansion (Toronto, ON) | DIALOG in collaboration with Smoke Architecture
• New Tecumseth Municipal Offices Adaptive Re-Use (Alliston, ON) | +VG Architects
• Queen’s University Indigenous Gathering Space (Kingston, ON) | Smoke Architecture
• Science Collaboration Centre at Chalk River (Chalk River, ON) | HDR

WoodWorks BC Category

• Arbour House (Victoria, BC) | Patkau Architects
• Nuxalk Mask, song and dance (Bella Coola, BC) | Mackin Architects Ltd.
• Pyrrha (Vancouver, BC) | Birmingham & Wood Architects Planners LLP
• Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre (Burnaby, BC) | hcma architecture + design
• təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre (New Westminster, BC) | hcma architecture + design

WoodWorks Alberta, Prairie Category

• Canopy (Edmonton, AB) | Jonathan Monfries
• Olds College, Werklund Agriculture and Technology Centre (Olds, AB) | GGA-Architecture
• Saddle Lake Onchaminahos Elementary School (Saddle Lake Cree Nation, AB) | Reimagine Architects
• The Station at Cochrane Crossing (Cochrane, AB) | GEC Architecture
• V Residence (Winnipeg, MB) | 1×1 architecture inc.