Leaving lasting impressions.

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 of designing the Kashadaying Native Student Residence in a modest neighbourhood of one-and-a-half storey houses on small lots in the city.

The building's exterior is enveloped with layers of stucco and the roof is topped with asphalt shingles - materials selected to blend in with the existing look of the neighbourhood.

But the all-wood interior, designed with the help of a First Nation elder, incorporates the significant symbols important to Native people, and is complimented by the timber posts and beams, explains Stephenson.

The residence is an open circular space. In keeping with the Native belief in the four compass points of the north, east, south and west, which represent the wind, sun, water and food respectively, Stephenson designed the residence to feature a gathering area which captures the northern breeze on the north side of the building, a sunporch on the east side, a second area to feature a structure using the element of water in the south, and the dining room on the west side.

The building, commissioned by a non-profit provincial housing and support organization, opened in 1990 with a sunrise ceremony and sweat lodge, which Stephenson attended.

"Wood is a much better insulator that steel," Stephenson says. "With steel we would have had to go extra lengths to keep it warm. And, we wouldn't have had the same warmth of environment."

The Elk Lake Eco-Resource Centre, a $1.2 million- development initiated by the Elk Lake Community Group, opens in three months and brings together all those interested in the management of forests. It will be Canada's only centre for learning for the management of forests, and will include an interpretive centre, a research green house and overnight cabins.

One of the misconceptions about wood-engineered buildings is that they do not withstand fire as well as steelstructured buildings do, Kuch notes. When in fact, the opposite is true.

"The only real challenge for anyone using wood is meeting building codes," Kuch says. "Wood beams outperform steel. At 500 degrees C steel loses all its structural ability and flops over like a bag of spaghetti. A wood structure, like a 6 X 8 or 10 X 12-foot structure, will (suffer some) burning and charring, but the inside remains fine.

"Steel gets soft. With wood, you've got time."

Kuch Stephenson Architects is made up of a team of architects, interior designers, engineers and planners, and was established in 1986. It has a long history of assisting clients in the development of institutional, commercial, industrial and residential projects adapted to the geographic and climatic challenges of their locations.

The work of Stephenson and Kuch reflects and celebrates the character and culture of this region. Together they have two decades of experience in the architectural design of: public housing, commercial buildings, education facilities, theatres and auditoriums, private residences, air terminal buildings, recreational facilities, government buildings, military installations, tourist facilities, museums, art galleries, interpretive centres, health care facilities, libraries, churches and long-term care centres.

Kuch Stephenson Architects offers architectural design, project management, structural and civil engineering, interior design, building science consulting, urban planning, facility management, forensic consulting, construction management and feasibility studies.

'The future of wood building looks pretty good," says Kuch. "It takes a lot of energy to bake a brick or melt steel, so as those costs go up, your per-pound price goes up too. To get steel you have to dig a hole in the ground, dig it up, crush it. It takes a lot to actually create the product.

Wood grows in the sun. It's a renewable resource, and it makes good sense that we use what continues to grow around (us)."