Project Profile

Wood Innovation & Design Centre

The 51,000 ft2 Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC)

serves as a gathering place for researchers, academics, design

professionals, and others interested in generating ideas for

innovative uses of wood. The eight-story building was the

world’s tallest, all-timber modern structure at the time of

its completion. The innovative but easily repeatable design

celebrates the beauty of wood and shows the potential to

increase the use of mass timber in mid-rise and high-rise

structures.

The entire building was designed and built in just 16 months, demonstrating mass timber’s potential to accelerate construction schedules.

LOCATION Prince George, BC

TYPE

Commercial | Educational

ARCHITECT

Michael Green Architecture (Now a Katerra Design Partner)

PROJECT STATUS

Completed in 2014

2

Project Profile | Wood Innovation & Design Centre

Mass Timber & CLT WIDC is about celebrating wood as one of the most

beautiful and sustainable materials for building in BC

and around the globe. Its goal is to help more architects,

engineers, and private developers recognize the value of

mass timber design as an alternative to steel, concrete, and

masonry. With the exception of a mechanical penthouse,

there is no concrete used in the building above the ground

floor slab. The design incorporates a simple, “dry” structure

of systems-integrated CLT floor panels, glulam columns and

beams, and mass timber walls. This approach translates

into repeatability, meaning this building and its systems can

be easily replicated, rather than serving only as a one-off

showpiece.

Awards & Recognitions• 2016 Governor General’s Medal in Architecture

• 2015 RAIC Award of Excellence for Innovation

in Architecture

• 2015 Lieutenant-Governor of BC Award in Architecture

(Merit)

• 2015 AIBC Innovation Award