Photo © Stephanie Tracey. Photo courtesy Canadian Wood Council/B.C. Wood Works!

The Richmond Olympic Oval's award-winning roof incorporates pine beetle 'kill wood'—material that would have otherwise gone to waste.

While it will not be hosting medal-contending champions for another few months, the Richmond Olympic Oval's own winning streak continues, adding another award to its sizable collection.

The project's roof, designed by Fast + Epp Structural Engineers (Vancouver), has received the Award for Sports or Leisure Structures at the Institution of Structural Engineers' 2009 Structural Awards Gala in London, England.

The speed skating venue beat out other nominees such as the 2008 Olympics Beijing National Stadium (i.e. the Bird's Nest), the retractable roof of the Wimbledon Centre Court (London, England), and an elephant habitat at Denmark's Copenhagen Zoo.

The $178-million facility has also won the Institutional Design Award from B.C. Wood Works!/Canadian Wood Council (CWC), the Innovation in Architecture Award of Excellence from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), and the Green Building Practices Award from the Globe Foundation and World Green Building Council (WorldGBC).

Mary Tracey, B.C. Wood Works! executive director, was not surprised the Oval has received yet more recognition.

"This project is an outstanding building and will be a showcase for B.C. wood products for years to come," she told Construction Canada Online. "The collaborative process of the design teams took into consideration the rich cultural heritage of the First Nations' building, the effects of the pine beetle infestation, and engineering issues of long-span structures."

The November 2009 issue of Construction Canada takes an in-depth look at the venue and its use of wood.