VANCOUVER, B.C. - Using wood in innovative and beautiful ways to bring new life to the Lakeside at Black Butte Ranch - an iconic Oregon resort community near Sisters, Oregon - has earned Portland-based architects Hacker an award from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
The SFI Certified Wood Award is part of the North American Wood Design and Building Awards program. Hacker was presented with the award at the Wood WORKS! BC Wood Design Awards in Vancouver on March 6.
The Wood Design Awards program is a North American award for excellence in wood architecture. Prominent architects award winners based on creativity, distinctive and appropriate uses of wood materials, ability to satisfy clients' building and site requirements, and overall aesthetic appeal. Prior SFI award winners were KH Designs, in 2016, for the Quilakwa Center, in Enderby BC, Allen + Maurer Architects, in 2015, for the Askew's Foods Uptown Store in Salmon Arm, BC, and NSDA Architects, in 2014, for Kordyban Lodge, in Prince George, BC.
Wood WORKS! is a national industry-led initiative of the Canadian Wood Council, with a goal to support innovation and provide leadership on the use of wood, wood products and systems.
The Black Butte Ranch sits at the gateway to Oregon's high desert. First planned in the early 1970s, the ranch is a vacation destination for many, and a year-round home for some. The new lakeside complex, complete with Sierra Pacific windows and other wood features certified to the SFI Standard, replaces the well-worn main pool facility and revives the heart of the ranch.
"Sierra Pacific Windows is proud to have played a part in this stunning project. It showcases our wood windows and our architectural wall system, both certified to SFI. Congratulations to the architects at Hacker and Black Butte Ranch for creating this scenic resort, both inside and out," said Andrea White, Director of Architectural Sales at Sierra Pacific Windows.
Sierra Pacific's architectural wall system is a distinctive upgrade over standard storefront windows or aluminum curtain walls. In many cases, the system's glue-laminated wood beams can even eliminate the need for steel beams.
"The Black Butte Ranch is a prime example of the versatility and appeal of wood. Architects and builders choose wood because it looks great, it's easy to work with and it comes from a renewable resource," said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. "And the wood in these Sierra Pacific products comes from forests certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard. This means the forests are well-managed and they deliver numerous environmental and social benefits including carbon storage, conservation of biodiversity and support for rural communities."
Corey Martin, Principal at Hacker, grew up in the region and said it was important that the project came off as secondary to the landscape. "We designed the buildings as low-slung pavilions with canted roofs, giving them the appearance of being dug into the earth. We are pleased to be recognized with this award from SFI and the Wood Design awards program because it showcases our commitment to using wood for its inherent beauty and sustainability."
The building's interior is airy and open with stunning views of Mount Washington, the Three Sisters, and other local peaks. The building is covered in dark-stained cedar siding.
"The outer skin of the building is a darker material so that it blends into the background. When it comes to sustainability, wood is the best choice as a green building material. When we consider energy efficiency, in window casements for example, and wood's ability to store carbon, the environmental advantages are really quite substantial," said Corey Martin.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting forest sustainability and supporting the links between sustainable forests and communities through grant programs, carefully targeted research, direct leadership of critical initiatives, and partnerships that effectively contribute to multiple conservation objectives. Forests certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard cover more than 285 million acres/115 million hectares. Millions more hectares benefit from the SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard. SFI's Forest Management, Fiber Sourcing and Chain of Custody Standards work to ensure the health and future of forests. Through application of these certification standards, SFI's on-product labels help consumers make responsible purchasing decisions. SFI Inc. is governed by an independent three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally. Learn more at sfiprogram.org.
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