Skip to Content
Sunny daytime exterior view of 2,100 square metre BC Hydro Operations Centre in Port Alberni showing wood exterior, including a roof of braced, steel frame supporting glue-laminated timber (glulam) beams on the main column lines

BC Hydro Operations Centre – Port Alberni

Location: Port Alberni, B.C.
Architect: Omicron
Completion: 2010
Photo credit: Terry Guscott

Size
2,100 square metres

Owner
BC Hydro

Structural Engineer
Omicron

Engineered Wood Fabricator
Mercer Mass Timber LLC

Structural systems
Hybrid / Other
Passive House / High performance
Post + beam
Prefabricated

Project materials
Glue-laminated timber (Glulam)
Siding
Solid-sawn heavy timber

Striking hybrid wood and steel roof unifies BC Hydro’s indoor and outdoor workers

A post-disaster operations centre built for strength, flexibility and durability

The 2,100-square-metre facility is located on the outskirts of Port Alberni, British Columbia (B.C). It brings together the provincial electrical utility’s indoor and outdoor workers for the first time under a single unifying roof—a metaphoric bridge connecting these historically independent departments. The building is located in Canada’s highest seismic zone and needed to function as a post-disaster operations centre. As a result, it has been designed for strength, flexibility and durability.

Under the province’s Climate Action Plan, BC Hydro is required to work towards carbon neutrality in its operations, and thus this project targeted high standards of environmental design and energy performance. The architects’ approach was to maximize building performance using passive design strategies, and only then add active environmental control systems.

The program, which includes offices and warehouse spaces, is arranged on a single storey with a partial mezzanine. The plan is elongated in the east-west direction to maximize the benefits of solar exposure and optimize control for daylighting and energy performance. Louvered skylights bring daylight deep into the building, while the double-height volumes assist with natural ventilation.

The building envelope is highly insulated and incorporates high-performance double glazing to reduce energy demand for heating and cooling. Primary energy comes from an extensive geo-exchange system.

Wood inside and out

The wood roof is the most striking feature—a hybrid of wood and steel with open web steel joists used in the warehouse portion of the building. The office portion consists of a braced, steel frame supporting glue-laminated timber beams on the main column lines. These in turn support horizontal glulam purlins that are cross-braced by solid Douglas-fir members. The interior is warm for a utility building, with vertical grain Douglas-fir for the doors and millwork, as well as custom western red cedar slatted ceilings.

Opens in new tab