National

2010 Olympics

Wood WORKS! is working closely with the Olympic Oval design team in providing technical support as necessary, to ensure wood is being showcased in the building. Wood WORKS! is also working closely with the architects and engineers involved with the other 2010 facilities. A comprehensive communications 2010 campaign, managed by Wood WORKS!, is presently underway. Its objective is to get the design community excited about using wood!

Wood WORKS! Web Site

The Wood WORKS! web site will be revamped. New information will be added and a new user-friendly site will be developed. The new site should be ready to be launched early this year. If you have any comments and suggestions to improve our web site, please forward them to Ioana Lazea at: ilazea@cwc.ca
 

British Columbia

Jury Announced for BC Wood Design Awards Competition

Wood WORKS! BC is pleased to announce the members of the jury for the 2006 Wood Design Awards Competition. All are highly respected in their fields. The jury members are CY Loh - Professional Engineer, CY Loh and Associates Ltd.; Oliver Neumann - Assistant Professor, UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Terrance Wagner - Senior Associate, Bohlin Cywinski, Jackson, Architecture Planning Interior Design, Seattle; Jennifer O'Connor - Building Industry Advisor, Forintek Canada Corporation; Rick Jeffery - President and CEO, Coast Forest Products Association.

The Call for Nominations is now out for this year's BC Wood Design Awards Categories. This includes an Industry Leader Award. "The Industry Leader Award acknowledges contributions made to the expansion and future growth of the wood industry in British Columbia. This award honours an individual or company that stands out as an advocate for wood and helps BC realize more benefits from its wood production." For a nomination form visit, www.wood-works.org . Nominations close February 1, 2006.

The Gala will again be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel on Monday, March 6th. Based on last year’s successful event we are expecting the event to be well attended. Tickets are available at $100 per person or $1000 for a table of 10. Contact event coordinator Lorna Malone at 1-977-929-9663 ex 4 for reservations.

Wood Champion Designer Sought for Castlegar City Hall

The City of Castlegar gave full support to the Wood Industry and BC’s Wood Culture when it put out the Request for Proposal for its new 14,00 sq ft city hall. ‘The City will be selecting a wood champion designer for the project so that the opportunities for building with wood cost effectively are maximized. Experience & excellence in building with wood is a key qualifying criterion.” The RFP also stated that, “ The building will attempt to use local materials as much as possible. The building will highlight the use and beauty of wood throughout the building inside and out.”

WoodWorks® Software Workshop

Hands on training with WoodWorks® software will be available at workshops in BC this Spring. Workshops are being held in Victoria on campus at the University of Victoria, Thursday, March 23 and in Vancouver on Friday, March 24 at the BC Institute of Technology downtown campus. This full day workshop will be broken into two sessions with the morning session focused on beginners/new users and the afternoon session focused on intermediate to advanced users. Each session will cover, Sizer, Shearwalls and Connectors Programs. For more information on the workshops contact BC Event Coordinator, Lorna Malone at 1-877-929-9663 ext. 4 .

Alberta

Activities for Alberta Wood WORKS!

The Alberta Wood WORKS! project has been active on several fronts and the following highlights some of the major activities that are being pursued by the program:

Alberta Wood Solutions Fair - April 19, 2006 in Edmonton, Alberta

Alberta Wood Design Awards - Alberta's first wood design Awards event is scheduled the evening prior to the Wood Solutions Fair - April 18, 2006.

Case Study - Ongoing - Alberta Pressure Equipment Safety Authority building in the south side of Edmonton at the Research Park - early phase - initial visit made; first pictures taken; currently meeting and sourcing data on project. Picture attached

Builders Insurance Project - AB Wood WORKS! will be working with Forintek to undertake a survey of insurance firms, builders and building officials in an effort to determine what is causing the rising cost of Building Insurance especially when wood is used, and what products or services could effectively reduce the insurance rates.

Alberta Architects Association Banff Session

Wood WORKS! negotiating sponsorship opportunities for March 2006 event.

Ontario

Wood Awards Book

The Ontario Wood WORKS! team is compiling an Awards Book to celebrate 5 years of Excellence in Wood Design in Ontario. Award winning projects from various sectors and communities will be featured in this publication to be released in late spring.

Preparations already beginning for the 6th Annual Wood WORKS! Awards Gala

Working in conjunction with preparations for the CWC’s Wood Solutions Fair, Wood WORKS! staff has been busy coordinating dates and locations in order to provide two back to back days of wood-based events in Toronto and area. This year’s Wood Awards Gala will be held on Monday, October 16th, at the Toronto Design Exchange. The Toronto Wood Solutions Fair will be held the following day, October 17th at the Toronto Convention Centre.

WoodWorksAwards.com redesign

Working in coordination with provincial Wood WORKS! directors and with CWC staff, a new woodworksawards.com is being designed in order to combine and expand upon previously separate sites. The new site will provide a one-stop site where information can be found about all Wood WORKS! Awards Galas.

Eagle's Earth Cree & Ojibway Historical Centre

Constance Lake First Nation, ON

Currently under construction, the Eagle’s Earth Cree & Ojibway Historical Centre will not only be a unique tourist attraction that stimulates the economic development in Constance Lake, but also a strong testament to the inherent beauty and cultural significance of wood. For the complete story please visit this link