Two Okanagan projects and an industry leader in wood construction have been recognized by the 2018 Wood Design Awards.

Wood WORKS! is a national industry-led program of the Canadian Wood Council, with a goal to support innovation and provide leadership on the use of wood products and building systems.

The Penticton Lakeside Resort, west wing construction by CEI Architecture Associates Inc. won the Commercial Wood Design award and the trades renewal and expansion project at the 琉璃神社 campus of Okanagan College took the Institutional Wood Design award.

鈥淏.C.鈥檚 architects, engineers, designers and project teams continue to explore wood鈥檚 potential with vision, passion and courage, and we applaud them this evening for their extraordinary achievements. You are making our communities more sustainable; our province more prosperous; our living and working environments more beautiful, all the while celebrating our forestry heritage by using wood,鈥� said Lynn Embury-Williams, executive director of Wood WORKS!

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Bill Downing, president of Structurlam Mass Timber Corporation of Penticton, was presented the Jury鈥檚 Choice Award. He has been a wood industry leader and advocate for wood for more than 30 years.

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Structurlam products were used in the Penticton Lakeside Resort construction and at Brock Commons, the most celebrated project of the 2018 Wood Design Awards in B.C. Brock Commons used the cross-laminated timber panels created by Structurlam. Brock Commons set a record by winning in three categories, including the Engineer Award, the Architect Award and Wood Innovation Award. The 18-storey project, located at UBC in Vancouver, was the tallest hybrid mass timber building in the world at the time of construction, and showcases qualities which demonstrate wood as a premier building material for the future.

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鈥淭he first two floors are concrete and then 16 floors of wood. Right here in little old Penticton you鈥檝e got some world-class projects going through,鈥� said Downing during the construction phase of Brock Commons.

There were 100 nominations in 14 categories, featuring projects of all types and sizes, and all demonstrating outstanding architectural and structural achievement using wood. The Wood Design Awards are presented by Wood WORKS! BC, the Canadian Wood Council and its B.C. member associations; with support from Natural Resources Canada, Forestry Innovation Investment and industry sponsors.