School districts across British Columbia (B.C.) have ready access to homegrown leading-edge technology and expertise in educational facilities for the future. Over the last 10 years, more than fifty K-12 schools across B.C. incorporated wood into their building design and learning spaces. The natural feel of wood creates optimal learning conditions and healthier places for children, teachers, and staff. Many companies pushing the boundaries of wood design and construction are located in B.C.
Benefits of building schools with wood
Safe and durable
Mass timber construction has a proven safety and performance record for a full range of conditions including fire, seismic and wind.
Local supply
BC has hundreds of wood product suppliers, mass timber fabricators and experienced contractors.
Building better
Wood schools can be built quickly and cost effectively due to off-site assembly and collaborative early design processes.
Health and wellness
Wood use in classrooms creates a healthier environment, promoting both mental and physical well-being while enhancing learning potential.
Carbon and climate
Wood products can have a lighter carbon footprint than other building materials helping to meet school district carbon reduction goals.
Culture and Future
Schools can be a place of cultural expression and celebration with wood detailing creating a strong architectural expression, whether contemporary, artistic, technological or Indigenous cultures.
How to integrate wood into schools
The latest research report—Wood use in B.C. schools, by Thinkspace Architecture Planning Interior Design Ltd. and Fast + Epp—is intended as a useful guide for architects, school districts and administrators looking to incorporate wood in schools.
Wood in classrooms creates a healthier environment that promotes both mental and physical well-being and enhances learning potential. Timber construction is a part of B.C.’s cultural roots and Indigenous culture. Expressive use of wood in school design can help build a pride of place and share heritage for students, early on in their academic careers.
Belmont Secondary High School | Photo credit: Barry Calhoun
Seismic design and upgrades
First and foremost, schools are community buildings. Designed to be safe places to learn. Because they are built to rigorous standards, to withstand earthquakes, wind and fire, many communities have designated schools as a safe place to gather.
In the aftermath of a disaster, wood is a versatile and resilient building material well-suited to repairing and rebuilding structures.
Although wood buildings are known to perform well in earthquakes, proper detailing is essential. To this end, a basic understanding of how lateral loads impact wood framing systems, and how construction detailing and fasteners affect the ultimate performance of a structure, is invaluable.
Wood was chosen for the seismic upgrade of Wellington Secondary School in Nanaimo due to its ability to be economical, beneficial for scheduling and visually appealing for staff and students.
Photo credit: Sunny Jhooty Photography
More sophisticated approaches to the seismic design of buildings have been developed as our understanding of earthquake behaviour has evolved.
This report by WoodWorks BC covers an overview of British Columbia’s Seismic Mitigation Program and includes three case studies that describe the design approach and construction for the seismic upgrade of Surrey Christian Primary Wing; Cordova Bay Elementary School; and Wellington Secondary School.
The school district demolished and replaced select portions of Cordova Bay Elementary School using a cost-effective combination of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and nail-laminated timber (NLT).
Photo credit: Krista Jahnke
Seismic-safe schools
wək̓ʷan̓əs tə syaqʷəm Elementary and Bayview Elementary schools in Vancouver are the first schools in B.C. to use mass timber their primary construction system. Both completed in 2023, they are a part of a B.C. government initiative to accelerate seismic safety in schools through upgrades and replacements of facilities.
Mass timber plays nicely for today’s modern teaching methods allowing for flexible, open layouts and a connection to nature. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) was used for floors and walls, and glue-laminated timber (glulam) for posts and beams.
Bayview Elementary | Photo credit: Michael Elkan Photography
Wood school design
Listen to Ray Wolfe of Thinkspace Architecture Planning Interior Design Ltd. discussing how and why wood is becoming a more prevalent choice for projects.
Maddaugh Elementary School | Photo credit: Upper Left Photography
Next generation: Building three- to four-storey wood schools
Throughout the province, new school projects are being planned that anticipate requiring either three-or four-storey buildings. It is forecasted that the demand for school buildings of this size will continue to rise. This four-part series from WoodWorks BC covers design, risk and alternative solutions, cost and life cycle analysis comparisons.
Design options
This study explores timber construction for schools up to four storeys, with a focus on the main classroom blocks, as these portions of the building are the ones that are the most likely to increase the number of storeys.
Risk analysis
Drawing from the Design options report, this risk analysis evaluates the level of performance of larger schools using mass timber construction while fulfilling the fire safety objectives of the BC Building Code.
Cost comparison
Building on the previous Design options and Risk analysis reports, this cost comparison provides guidance in assessing and comparing mass timber construction options on a cost basis.
Life Cycle Analysis
This report provides a life cycle analysis comparison associated with the construction of new school buildings in B.C., based on four different framing systems.
Abbotsford Senior Secondary School | Photo credit: Aaron Millar
Whole-building life cycle assessment
The goal of green design is to achieve sustainability by designing and building structures that use less energy, water, and materials, and minimize impacts on human health and the environment. Whole-building life cycle assessment (wbLCA) supports this by quantifying the environmental impacts of resource consumption, embodied carbon or greenhouse gas emissions, and waste throughout the building’s life. Using LCA helps support the best environmental choice of products, such as low-carbon building materials like wood.
Kwakiutl Wagalus School in Port Hardy features western red cedar from local forests in every aspect of the building’s design.
Photo credit: Lubor Trubka Associates Architects
Wood and sustainability
The Low-carbon building materials and LEED v4 from the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change describes how to incorporate low-carbon building materials into LEED v4 projects.
Gibson’s Elementary School is LEED Canada 2009 Gold certified and utilizes glulam beams and columns as the primary structural material.
Photo credit: Ed White Photographics
Explore schools using wood
Wood schools create safe, healthy, culturally significant and inspiring learning environments. Read about the wide range of educational facilities that have incorporated wood into their designs.
Continue your learnining in our resource centre
Our resource centre is a great place to grow your know-how on wood use in schools. Topics range from cost comparison and seismic design to virtual tours and podcasts with industry experts.
wək̓ʷan̓əs tə syaqʷəm Elementary School (listen to the pronunciation on YouTube) in Vancouver is a nearly all mass timber structure with a flexible, interconnected plan.
Photo credit: Bright Photography
Find B.C. wood suppliers
B.C. has a wide range of forest product manufacturers for your school needs. Engineered mass timber products such as glulam and CLT allow the construction of large schools while fulfilling the fire safety objectives of the BC Building Code. Finishes such as doors, wall panelling, and flooring surround students and teachers in the warmth of wood.