Striking hybrid wood and steel roof unifies BC Hydro’s indoor and outdoor workers
BC Hydro’s Port Alberni facility featured wood so prominently, and successfully, that it inspired another wood-forward facility at BC Hydro’s Maple Ridge location.
- The curved hybrid glue-laminated timber (glulam) and steel roof covers the warehouse, office and large outdoor area.
- The building is located in Canada’s highest seismic zone.
- Douglas-fir is used in the solid beams, millwork and doors, and western red cedar on the ceilings.
A post-disaster operations centre built for strength, flexibility and durability.
The 2,100-square-metre facility is located on the outskirts of Port Alberni, British Columbia (B.C). It brings together the provincial electrical utility’s indoor and outdoor workers for the first time under a single unifying roof—a metaphoric bridge connecting these historically independent departments. The building is located in Canada’s highest seismic zone and needed to function as a post-disaster operations centre. As a result, it has been designed for strength, flexibility and durability.
Under the province’s Climate Action Plan, BC Hydro is required to work towards carbon neutrality in its operations, and thus this project targeted high standards of environmental design and energy performance. The architects’ approach was to maximize building performance using passive design strategies, and only then add active environmental control systems.
The program, which includes offices and warehouse spaces, is arranged on a single storey with a partial mezzanine. The plan is elongated in the east-west direction to maximize the benefits of solar exposure and optimize control for daylighting and energy performance. Louvered skylights bring daylight deep into the building, while the double-height volumes assist with natural ventilation.
The building envelope is highly insulated and incorporates high-performance double glazing to reduce energy demand for heating and cooling. Primary energy comes from an extensive geo-exchange system.
Wood inside and out
The wood roof is the most striking feature—a hybrid of wood and steel with open web steel joists used in the warehouse portion of the building. The office portion consists of a braced, steel frame supporting glue-laminated timber (glulam) beams on the main column lines. These in turn support horizontal glulam purlins that are cross-braced by solid Douglas-fir members. The interior is warm for a utility building, with vertical grain Douglas-fir for the doors and millwork, and custom western red cedar slatted ceilings.
