The City of Campbell River’s new water supply centre building was recognized with two awards earlier this month, and Mayor Andy Adams showed off those awards at the most recent meeting of city council.
The facility was awarded best civil building design at the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board’s Commercial Building Awards ceremony in Courtenay on April 4.
Then, on April 13, the centre received the Community Recognition Award from Wood WORKS! – a program of the Canadian Wood Council – for its support of the B.C. wood industry and its commitment to use wood.
The centre was also a finalist in this spring’s Association of Consulting Engineering Company BC awards for engineering excellence and will be featured in the next edition of Celebrating Excellence in Wood Architecture, an annual publication put out by the Canadian Wood Council.
“The work that Mr. (Ron) Neufeld (Deputy City Manager) and Ms. (Deborah) Sargent (city manager) and everyone in the water department has done in combination with BC Hydro has resulted in a new, state-of-the-art dedicated water supply line that will hold the city of Campbell River in very good stead for the next 50-60 years,” Adams says. “But we also kind of went the extra mile on the building itself, reaching out to the local Indigious communities, and in particular local First Nations artists Mr. Bill Henderson and Junior Henderson and some other carvers to add some special features to the building.”
A Wood First approach was used in the design and construction of the water supply facility, with the trees used in the construction of the interior of the building having been felled on the property itself.
“It’s really an interesting piece,” says Coun. Charlie Cornfield of the award itself. He received the Wood WORKS! award at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities AGM in Powell River. “The entire frame is wood. The entire picture is wood. The entire piece is wood. It’s something that’s unique.”
The project included construction of a deep-water lake intake, the water supply centre building, pumping and disinfection systems, 3.5 kilometres of large diameter water transmission main along Highway 28 and Brewster Lake Road, and connection to the existing water distribution system at the bottom of General Hill. To see time-lapse photography of construction, and find more detailed information, visit campbellriver.ca/water-supply-centre
The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) is a not-for-profit, member-based association of approximately 1,000 REALTORS® who live and work in communities from the top of the Malahat to the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The Commercial Building Awards (CBAs) recognize outstanding workmanship and design in commercial buildings within the VIREB area. Wood WORKS! is a Canadian Wood Council program that is industry led and intended to help increase the use of wood in non-residential, mid-rise and tall building markets in Canada.
Campbell River’s water system distributes potable water for domestic, commercial and industrial use as well as fire protection via transmission and distribution watermains running throughout the community and to local First Nations and a portion of Strathcona Regional District Area D.
“We’re very proud of the new water supply centre and are honoured to have it recognized as a standout piece of infrastructure,” Adams says. “This beautiful facility serves a vital purpose, and we want to thank everyone involved in the design, planning, building, coordination – and ongoing operation – of this facility that will provide clean, safe drinking water for decades to come.”
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