Constructing Confluence

Canada is a nation covered in forests. Its economy and national identity are both built upon a vast wealth of natural resources. Ottawa, Canada’s capital city is one that was founded on the lumber industry. LeBreton Flats, now vacant, was once the site of one of the world’s largest timber mills. Trees were felled in forests up north and placed in the river to begin their long journey to the mills at LeBreton.

There has always been a deep connection between wood and the water. For many, the bogs of logs floating in the river was an integral part of the landscape of Ottawa in days past. In collaboration with the Canadian Wood Council, a new centre for timber exploration is created on the water at LeBreton Flats. By bringing this element of the site’s history to the forefront and by generating a new excitement towards the subject, contemporary culture and history will engage in conversation.

All buildings connected by the moving dock are part of a familial typology that varies based on the distinct programme of each room. Clad in untreated Eastern White Cedar shingles, the buildings grey and darken differently depending on orientation, sun exposure and the river water, this materiality is in connection with the site specific component of Critical Regionalism. A horizontal datum was established between all of the buildings as a method of articulating the timber frame's structural bays on the exterior, and drawing a continuity inside between the interior workbenches, window frames and handrail.

The aim of the project is to embrace a new Critical Regionalism specific to Ottawa, and to educate its visitors on the value and importance of using local wood in construction. The centre exists to inform the next generation of wood materials, designs and applications in construction. The tectonic language of the project is designed in the spirit of the traditional Canadian timber frame barn.