Leaving lasting impressions.

• Author: Plouffe, Kim-Dominique
• Position: Wood architecture - Brief Article

Architects adopt new approaches in commercial and institutional building design

Nestled among trees on a sloping hill in Thunder Bay is the Sleeping Giant Visitor Centre - a model which depicts the possibilities and benefits Canada's forests can offer through the use of wood as an alternative to conventional building materials.

The Sleeping Giant Visitor Centre, the Kashadaying Native Student Residence and the Elk Lake Eco-Resource Centre, which is scheduled to open this spring, are examples of wood-engineered projects in the North.

While the majority of architects and engineers today are trained and educated to use steel and concrete in the design and building of commercial, industrial and institutional buildings, architects Walter Kuch and John Stephenson use wood as often as possible. Many community and government groups are turning to the firm of Kuch Stephenson Architects in Thunder Bay for assistance in developing wood-engineered projects.

"It makes for a far better expression of Northern Ontario when you use materials native to those areas," Kuch says. "In the North, we have an abundance of wood and wood products.

"People have a natural affinity to things made of wood. It's common thread. It (heightens) comfort levels and it's timeless, and if it's done well, people respond."

Both residents and tourists to Thunder Bay still marvel at the innovative ways in which wood was used in the visitor centre project.

The 7,000-square-foot Sleeping Giant Visitor Centre, which opened four years ago in the Lake Marie Louise campground in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, is a $1.3-million initiative commissioned by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Extreme care was taken during its design to maintain existing vegetation and landscape, Kuch explains.

"We were able to take wood beams from inside and run them through the walls; which you can't do with steel or masonry," says Kuch. "Wood is a lot more flexible and forgiving."

Old poplar trees from around the property were also brought inside the building to use as posts. Even the canopy is made of wood.

"The whole structure is basically trees and poles, cut and trimmed so the walls could fit. Using wood, it allowed us to keep the structure (an open concept). People love it. They think it's great because we're using wood in ways that's opening eyes to what the possibilities are. You couldn't do this with (steel)," Kuch says.

Wood was the basic element to be used when John Stephenson took on the project...