Wood Design & Building Awards

Real Cedar Crowns it Winner at the Wood Design & Building Awards.

The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) recently announced the winning projects of the 39th annual Wood Design & Building Awards program. The influential awards program recognizes and celebrates excellence in wood design and construction.

And what an incredible year it was for wood design! Especially as more and more innovative building professionals have begun incorporating biophilic elements and mass timber products into their projects. The possibilities are endless. Furthermore, this movement towards natural building material is a win/win for inspired design and the environment.

That’s because wood, such as Real Cedar, actually helps fight climate change by capturing and storing carbon. Whereas man-made materials emit carbon. So it’s a green choice we can all feel good about.

”We are privileged to honour wood design leaders through the awards program, “says Martin Richard, VP Communications and Marketing at the Canadian Wood Council. “The quality, quantity, and diversity of the project nominations we received this year is inspiring. It also signals a growing architectural interest in renewable biomaterials and the expanded use of wood as a versatile, sustainable, high-performance construction element that offers better outcomes for people and the planet.”  

Courtesy of the Wood Design and Building Awards/Photo Credit: Nic Lehoux.

Alas, there Can Only Be One Real Cedar Winner

According to the CWC, a record of 181 nominations from 25 countries were received by the program this year. The creative talent of the participating design teams are transforming the world of architecture.Which is great. But with so many amazing entries, it does make jurors’ jobs somewhat challenging.

Take the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association (WRCLA), for example. We had the daunting task of selecting just one winner in the Real Cedar category this year. But we did it! And the winner is… House at 9,000 ft. by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, a firm that’s no stranger to Real Cedar’s design versatility and performance capabilities. (Check out some of their other projects: Horizon Neighborhood and Bigwin Island Club Cabins.)

“The submissions for this year’s Wood Design and Building Award were all exceptional,” says Brad Kirkbride, the managing director of the WRCLA. “But the House at 9000 ft. stood out for its innovative and evocative structure, which the judges felt would be of particular interest to the architectural community. The home’s exemplary design aesthetic which seamlessly blends into its natural surroundings, and the visually appealing mix of both clear and rustic knotty grades of Western Red Cedar.”