Leadership in wood use for design and building of local government projects was recognized today at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Convention in Vancouver.

And the City of Kimberley is among the municipalities being recognized.

Wood WORKS! BC announced winners of the 2015 Community Recognition Awards, which are presented annually to local governments that have been exemplary advocates for wood. This may be demonstrated through the specification of wood in a community project or through visionary initiatives that work toward building a community culture of wood.

The 2015 recipients are:

AVICC — Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities: Town of Qualicum Beach for the Qualicum Beach Fire Hall (MERIT: Vancouver Island Regional Library, representing 28 municipalities and 10 regional districts for libraries in City of Nanaimo and Town of Lake Cowichan);

AKBLG — Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments: Village of Kaslo for the 5th Street Unity Bridge (MERIT: City of Kimberley and Village of Midway);

NCLGA — North Central Local Government Association: District of Chetwynd for the Chetwynd Municipal Hall (under construction) (MERIT: Village of Burns Lake);

SILGA — Southern Interior Local Government Association: Columbia Shuswap Regional District for administrative and board offices in the City of Salmon Arm (MERIT: Village of Clinton|City of Armstrong);

LMLGA — Lower Mainland Local Government Association: Squamish – Lillooet Regional District for the Garibaldi Fire Hall in the Town of Whistler  (MERIT: City of Surrey|City of Port Moody).

“We congratulate these local governments for clearly demonstrating leadership and vision for their new community structures,” said Lynn Embury-Williams, Executive Director, Wood WORKS! BC. “We are very impressed with how wood was used in such a variety of projects and in so many BC communities, underlining the strong wood culture in our province.”

Embury-Williams also noted the record number of nominations for Community Recognition Awards this year. “The projects in winning communities showcase excellence in wood use as well as the many good reasons to use wood. While the outcomes are beautiful projects, other benefits include a lower carbon footprint and high performance buildings, while realizing significant socio-economic advantages and a lasting legacy of community pride.”

“These projects demonstrate the variety of structures possible with wood, from fire halls to bridges, and office spaces to libraries, making wood an ideal building material for local governments,” stated Embury-Williams.

“New and technologically advanced wood products and systems have become integral to innovative architecture, design and engineering, which are appealing to local governments wanting to realize inspired civic projects in their communities.”

She added that wood products and systems provide significant advantages from fire and seismic hazards, and wood buildings can be retrofitted for new uses and updated to new design styles. “Advances in engineered timber building materials and systems have also led to more affordable buildings, which is appealing to local governments who want to make the most of scarce building budgets.”

“Local governments in B.C. are increasingly embracing wood in their projects as recognition of B.C.’s rich forestry history while fulfilling their desire to reflect community values as they support local labour and materials during construction. We salute these winning communities for further advancing wood use in design and building, and leading us to a more sustainable future,” she concluded.

Communities are asked to contact Wood WORKS! BC for technical expertise, training and education when considering their next local government project.

Wood WORKS! BC is a recognized resource to help BC communities follow the Wood First Act, which requires provincially funded buildings to feature wood as the primary construction material within the BC Building Code.

For almost 20 years, Wood WORKS! BC has worked extensively with municipalities on all aspects of project planning from RFP wording to specification of structural and architectural wood products. Wood WORKS! BC’s services are available free-of-charge.

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