Exterior daytime view of low-rise Tall Tree Integrated Health Centre showing rock face exterior walls with cross-laminated timber (CLT) roof

Tall Tree Integrated Health Centre

Location: Cordova Bay, B.C.
Completion: 2015
Photo credit: Silent Sama Architectural Photography

Size
463 square metres

Structural Engineer
Herold Engineering Ltd.

Construction Manager
Pentech Projects

Wood Supplier
Mercer Mass Timber LLC

Structural systems
Low rise
Mass timber

Project materials
Cross-laminated timber (CLT)
Panelling

Species
Douglas-fir
Western red cedar

A healing environment

Expressions of wood throughout The Tall Tree Integrated Health Centre help create a healing environment in the building. Designers set out to explore the relationship between those who use the building and the natural environment where it is set by integrating natural materials.

The Tall Tree Integrated Health Centre (external link), located in Cordova Bay north of Victoria on Vancouver Island, houses a physiotherapy clinic and ceramics studio. The community is filled with granite outcrops and forests of Douglas-fir, hemlock, western red cedar and Garry oak trees.

The curved V-shaped plan was chosen to minimize the impact of the building on the existing rocks and trees of the site. The palette of natural materials includes wood and granite.

Large windows create strong visual connections between the interior and exterior of the building. Its roof structure is punctuated by three circular skylights designed to offer glimpses of the tree canopy outside.

Fashioned from its own surroundings

Extensive use of wood throughout the health centre as both a structural and finish material is central to the design—and a fitting choice given its idyllic setting. Both the roof and shear walls are built from cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels from locally harvested wood manufactured in B.C. The CLT is left exposed and unfinished, conveying a sense of strength and stability and contributes to a high level of noise reduction between different program spaces.

Non-shear walls are finished in rough-sawn western red cedar, bringing the warmth of the material palette deep into the building. The exposed wood soffit presents a planar surface that floats above a continuous band of clerestory windows and curving granite walls.

The project incorporates a wide range of environmental design features, including natural ventilation, solar shading to optimize daylight and control heat gain, low-emitting finishes, a high-efficiency HVAC system with heat recovery, LED lighting and low flow plumbing fixtures.

“The use of wood was a natural choice when considering the programmatic requirements and site conditions which defined this project. The goal was to create a healing environment that leveraged the physical and psychological benefits of engaging with the natural world. Not only did the building achieve this by orienting itself to its densely forested context, but also by extensively integrating and expressing wood in its structure and finishes.”

PETER JOHANNKNECHT, PRINCIPAL, CASCADIA ARCHITECTURE
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