Moricetown Gas Bar
Moricetown, British Columbia

Awards:
Canada Wood Council - B.C. Wood Design Awards Architect of the Year 2006
Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia Certificate of Innovation Merit 2006

Wood is the primary material for both structure and finishing, and, with the exception of the glu-lam members, was locally produced and harvested to the greatest extent feasible. A simple grid of glu-lam columns and beams as the primary structural system recalls the clear logic of the traditional First Nations post and beam structures. Galvanized steel plate knife-blade connections present an easy-to-build and elegant solution to the structural connections. The solid parts of the exterior walls are clad in natural finished vertical cedar boards. On the interior, exposed plywood roof sheathing and dimensional lumber joists can be seen beyond the glu-lam beams.

The Moricetown Gas Bar represents the diversity of building types that wood construction can embrace. It highlights the cultural significance of wood for BC’s indigenous people and displays its elegant and efficient use and ease-of-construction in an isolated area of British Columbia. In today’s quest for greening of the built environment, an important element of sustainability is often overlooked: social justice. The Moricetown store represents a further milestone for the Band in its quest towards economic independence and identifies wood as an obvious choice.