Photo © Tom Arban Photography

The Royal Conservatory of Music's Koerner Concert Hall (Toronto), built by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects and Halcrow Yolles, won the Interior Wood Design Award at this year's competition. The ceiling veil was created to reduce the presence of the acoustic reflector. To maintain the necessary acoustics in the hall, curves and textured surfaces were specified on different scales—large curving walls in the corners and balcony fronts, and fine textures on wood surfaces.

Photo © Sean Weaver. Photo courtesy Art Gallery of Ontario.

Gehry International and Halcrow Yolles won an Institutional Wood Design Award for expansion and renovation for Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Construction of the space took three years and added 9012 m² (97,000 sf).

Earlier this month, Ontario architects and engineers were honoured for non-residential designs harnessing wood and forest products. Presented by the Canadian Wood Council (CWC), the 9^th annual Ontario Wood Works! awards went to diverse projects, ranging from small eco-retreats to high-profile art gallery expansions.

Among this year's winners:
• Green Building Wood Design: Bridgenorth Library and Community Hall–Levitt Goodman Architects and Blackwell Bowick Partnership;
• Interior Wood Design: Royal Conservatory of Music's Koerner Concert Hall (Toronto)–Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects and Halcrow Yolles;
• Residential Wood Design: aerieLOFT (Wasaga Beach)–Breathe Architects and C+C Engineers;
• Multi-unit Wood Design: Seaway Pointe, Phase 1 (Welland)–Jonathan Weizel Architect and Hallex Engineering;
• Commercial Wood Design: Fielding Estate Winery (Beamsville)–superkül inc | architect and Blackwell Bowick Partnership;
• Institutional Wood Design (projects less than $10M): Native Child and Family Services Longhouse (Toronto)–Levitt Goodman Architects and Blackwell Bowick Partnership;
• Institutional Wood Design (projects greater than $10M): Transformation AGO (i.e. Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario)–Gehry International and Halcrow Yolles; and
• Northern Ontario Excellence: Hôpital Général Mattawa General Hospital–Larocque Elder Architects, ANO Architects/Architectes, and Halsall Associates.

The Wood Works! program also has distinct campaigns and award competitions in Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec for promoting the use of forest products in design and construction.

Photo courtesy Wood Works!

The Spadina WaveDeck (and similar structures at Rees and Simcoe) won the Jury's Choice Award at this year's Wood Works! competition. They were built by West 8 and DTAH in joint venture, along with Halsall Associates Ltd. The wave decks are designed to achieve complex geometric forms without adding cladding or finishes for public accessibility.