As thousands of cars whiz by daily, a unique local construction success story is coming together on the corner of McCallum and King Road.
The brand new Seventh Day Adventist office is approaching completion and the story that building will eventually tell is how a project can come together through talented people in the Fraser Valley.
91原创鈥檚 Site Lines Architecture worked alongside Abbotsford companies StructureCraft and Quantum Properties to make the design a reality. The entire project team was located within 30 kilometres of the site and the mass timber structural system showcased in the building was all handcrafted and produced locally.
The finished project will be one of the largest mass timber projects in the eastern Fraser Valley. There will be 150 dowel laminated timber (DLT) floor and roof panels, 200 glulam beams and columns and within the building will be 25,000 square feet of office space.
However, like so many projects, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed work. Initial schemes were completed in 2020, but actual foundation work was not started until February 2023.
Benjamin Epp, the business development coordinator for StructureCraft, stated that his company was hard at work throughout this year working on the roof, beams and columns for the building. He believes it will become a signature building in Abbotsford.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e done here is created actual ceilings with wood that are also the structural panel,鈥� he explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 basically a fully wood building, that as you walk through, everything is exposed and you see the light coming in.鈥�
Epp said that the timber superstructure took about six weeks to install and one reason why everything worked so quickly was that everything was close. He said the church was completely on board with using wood and that studies have shown that workers are happier and more productive in a wood building.
鈥淭he church wanted to use a natural and renewable resource and I think they also just liked the look of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t creates a lighter feeling in an office and it feels more spacious.鈥�
StructureCraft completed their work in September and other contractors are putting their final touches on the building. Epp said the local collaboration made this a special project.
鈥淚t was a very close team and everything in that building was sourced here,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll the structural design was done in our Abbotsford office.鈥�
Somewhat surprising is that this is the first major Abbotsford project for StructureCraft, who moved to Abbotsford from Delta in 2017. They worked with Abbotsford Christian School to create a timber canopy in 2021, but they are more known for major projects outside of Abbotsford 鈥� with many notable builds in the United States.
Some of their local projects include: the Richmond Olympic Oval roof, the McLeod Stadium grandstand roof in 91原创, the VanDusen Gardens footbridge in Vancouver, the Aldergrove Recreation Centre canopies, North Vancouver city hall, several roofs at Surrey Central City and the North Surrey Sport and Ice Complex.
Significant projects outside of the Lower Mainland include: Banff鈥檚 Nancy Pauw Bridge, Kelowna鈥檚 KF Aerospace Centre for Excellence, the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (University of Idaho), the DC Southwest Library, Houston鈥檚 Museum of Fine Arts and Austin, Tex.鈥檚 Hotel Magdalena.
An opening date for the new building has not yet been announced, but it鈥檚 possible that it could do so in 2024.
