Rendering of a departure gate in the Kelowna International Airport, featuring a wood ceiling in a waffle pattern

Kelowna International Airport Expansion – Phase I

Location: Kelowna, B.C.
Completion: 2026
Rendering courtesy of office of mcfarlane biggar architects + designers

Size
7,708 square metres

Structural Engineer
Fast + Epp

Mechanical Engineer
Introba

Construction Manager
PCL Construction

Project Manager
Brace Consulting

Electrical Engineer
AES Engineering

Code Consultant
GHL Consultants Ltd.

Mass Timber Supplier
Kalesnikoff

Mass Timber Installer
Beam Craft

Structural systems
Hybrid / Other
Low rise
Mass timber
Prefabricated

Project materials
Cross-laminated timber (CLT)
Glue-laminated timber (Glulam)

Kelowna International Airport expansion project features mass timber

Kelowna’s nearly 8,000-square-metre airport expansion project reinterprets its original 1960s modernist aesthetic with a two-storey prefabricated mass timber structure featuring a long-spanning signature “waffle-slab” roof design.

A unique hybrid mass timber design to deliver on aesthetics, cost and schedule

A unique hybrid mass timber solution will help ensure the expansion of the largest municipally owned and operated airport in Canada delivers when it comes to design, cost and schedule. Using naturally renewable, locally sourced wood, its signature CLT-slab “waffle” roof design is a warmer, more eco-friendly reinterpretation of yesteryears’ modernist “brutalist” aesthetic.

Through carefully planned prefabricated assembly and just-in-time delivery, the facility will remain open throughout its two-storey expansion and renovation. Its quick installation and enclosure of the addition will provide immediate protection and avoid disruptions of sensitive airport operations.

It’s estimated that prefabricated panels could cut construction time by 25 per cent creating significant savings for the project; while resulting in 90 per cent less construction traffic to the site. A key win, given construction sites are not allowed to encroach into areas where air traffic is operating. Once completed, the large-scale roof structure will serve as an industry example of highly efficient timber construction, showcasing the availability and affordability of mass timber.

An eco-friendly and efficient mass timber “waffle” roof design

The 4,500 square-metre roof’s mass timber “waffle” system of glulam girders will be cantilevered five metres in a north-south direction, spanning 20 metres over steel columns extended from the main floor. Prefabricated CLT panels will span between these primary girders, hiding the lighting, sprinklers, conduit, HVAC and drainage systems within the roof.

The easy-to-replicate prefabricated panels are locally sourced, and lighter than conventional concrete and steel, helping to cut the project’s transportation costs, schedule and emissions.

The facility’s use of locally sourced, mass timber not only offers an architectural expression unique to the region, but also demonstrates its growing contribution to economic growth, greener jobs and specialized trades’ knowledge when it comes to technologically advanced wood construction.

Along with the carbon benefits of a heavy timber structure, sustainability initiatives include a high-performing building envelope, a geo-exchange field and ground source heat pumps, natural ventilation, plentiful daylight in interior spaces, LED lighting and post-occupancy systems performance reviews.

A flexible, future-ready and eco-friendly airport

Future multi-phased expansions of the airport are expected to meet the demands of this fast-growing region. Using a standardized kit-of-parts approach and pre-designed, pre-engineered and prefabricated parts for the current expansion helps extend the useful life of critical infrastructure while setting the stage for future construction. This includes column-free zones within the terminal’s interior space, making future reconfigurations easier. Overall, this design concept improves existing airport security and allows for ongoing flexibility and modularity.

Preview the expansion

Rendering of a departure gate in the Kelowna International Airport, featuring a wood ceiling in a waffle pattern

Rendering courtesy of office of mcfarlane biggar architects + designers

BC Mass Timber Demonstration Program logo.

The Mass Timber Demonstration Program (MTDP) provides funding for incremental costs in the design and construction of buildings that showcase emerging or new mass timber and mass timber hybrid building systems and construction processes. The program supports jobs and employment recovery in the design, engineering, construction, and product manufacturing sector. B.C. industry will benefit from lessons learned, results, and research findings that can help support future mass timber projects in the province. Learn more.

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