WOOD WORKS AWARDS INSTITUTIONAL—COMMERCIAL WOOD DESIGN >10 M Sponsored by Resolute Forest Products Project: Oak Ridges Community Centre, Richmond Hill, ON Architect: Perkins+Will Canada Engineer: Smith + Andersen Oak Ridges Community Centre houses a variety of recreational ac- tivities for the city of Richmond Hill, including: a six lane swimming pool, leisure pool, gymnasium, fitness centre, eco-centre and multi-pur- pose rooms. Wood, and its seamless flow throughout the design, has helped contribute to the overwhelming success of the facility in creat- ing a new hub for community life and in leveraging significant growth in recreation and leisure with the city. Wood plays an important role in achieving the project’s overall sus- tainability goals and LEED Silver target. A balanced set of initiatives have been employed to maximize conservation of water, energy and resources in the construction and operation of the building. Wood was chosen as the primary building material for its renewability and regional availability. It also holds clear benefits from a life cycle assessment perspective and its ability to sequester carbon as a means of reducing and offsetting harmful CO 2 emissions. Wood was also selected for its clear advantages as both a structural and architectural system. In this respect, wood was central to the overall concept in addressing many of the technical challenges of this building type. In the roof, wood enabled greater freedom allowing the large can- tilevered overhangs to be expressed without the associated thermal bridging associated with steel. This created a greater flow of spaces between indoors and outdoors and ultimately a stronger connection between the building and its natural setting. NORTHERN ONTARIO EXCELLENCE AWARD Sponsored by FedNor Project: Batchewana First Nations Health Facility, Rankin Reserve, ON Architect: EPOH Inc. Engineer: STEM Engineering Group Inc. The Batchewana Health Facility is an important addition to the Batchewana First Nation of Ojibways Community. Its ar- chitecture reflects the rich customs and heritage of the Ojib- way people. The natural palette incorporates characteristic materials of the area, using earth colours indicative of the cul- ture and location. The use of wood framing and structural timber construction lends the project a hand-built aesthetic that the community can directly relate to. Forestry is a major local industry in Sault Ste. Marie and has been for more than a hundred years. The First Nations communities that surround the city, however, trace their his- tory with the forest industry much further back. Their archi- tecture has been intrinsically linked to forest products since its first examples thousands of years ago. The Batchewana First Nations has demonstrated with this building, among many others locally, their ongoing commitment to keeping this tradition alive. The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Winter 2014 – 63