The pronouncement of "on time, on budget" was an afterthought Friday to those assembled for the first public tour of the Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC) construction site.
The bones of the building are just now forming into a sketch of what the rooms will one day look like.
"I see this crane as I look out my office window. It's so good to see a crane in downtown Prince George and soon there will be two [when the Delta Hotel project starts building up]," said Mayor Shari Green.
Friday's pelting snow caused deep, icy puddles on the concrete base but its the only concrete in the whole project. The pillars, the exterior walls, the interior walls, the floors and ceilings, the elevator shafts and the staircases are all made of wood.
"It is the first of its kind in the world - a very unique building," said architect Miichael Green. "I believe this new way of building will change the construction industry around the world. It will represent new jobs and new uses of wood in this province."
The main tenant in the building will be UNBC, with its new masters program in wood engineering. The students will be learning new wood structural innovations inside classrooms and lecture theatres that embody that pursuit.
"This building is a world first and we intend to have world-class programs in here," said Dan Ryan, UNBC's dean of science and management. "When the students are in here, in these labs, they will be doing research to find new ways of using B.C. wood and creating new wood products - a new economy for B.C.'s wood."
The structural engineer involved in putting the giant glulam columns and cross-laminated solid wood panels was also pleased to see the future of his industry.
"We employ timber engineers," said Eric Karsh of Equilibrium Consulting Inc., a leader in tall wood building construction, and involved with architect Green and general contract company PCL Construction on this project. "We usually import them from Europe. Now we will have homegrown engineers trained here in this building."
Part of the engineering feat is the speed it will be assembled. The six-inch-thick walls are themselves part of the weigh-bearing integrity of the building. The main beams shouldering the bulk of the structure are several feet thick, and yet they are single chunks of wood. Each floor is locked together using only a few massive panels of solid wood block, rather than scores of two-by-fours and two-by-sixes spread at intervals then covered up by plywood.
So beautiful are the wood components that special instructions had to be given at the safety meeting for the visitors to be extra careful. The construction crew knew by now that people visiting the site were easily mesmerized by the work and might not watch where they were walking.
Part of the speed and cost-effectiveness of using this high-tech wood is no need for cosmetic coverings. Residents and occupants will see the exposed building blocks.
Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Shirley Bond said 13 companies in B.C. had contributed some kind of wood, expertise or other material to the integrated structure, and 250 different jobs would be created during the life of the construction.
"This building is innovative with wood and will be the home of wood innovation," she said. "We can showcase the use of wood in a place that brings together great [engineering and design] thinkers. We have the potential to take this site and make it a template for North America."
The six-storey building is expected to be completed in the fall of 2014.
