Tsawwassen First Nation Community Youth Center

The Tsawwassen Youth Center, developed by the Tsawwassen First Nation, is a 2-storey 12,000 sqft building utilizing logs, steel, light wood-frame and DowelLam DLT components. This complex hybrid structure is the first in North America to use DLT walls as a significant structural component of the lateral force-resisting system despite the many large openings.

We collaborated closely with the architect and base building engineer to carefully detail the interfaces and transfer of forces between the various elements while ensuring that the DLT remains exposed on the interior wall faces and the soffits of the floor and roof panels. Not only has HemFir lumber been utilized for the first time, the second floor also contains a special feature, namely our Acoustic DowelLam DLT which provides sound absorption to the space below.

The site installation procedure was also quite complicated, with intensive coordination between the GC and log/steel trades, requiring multiple mobilizations. Nevertheless, all 26,000sqft of finished DLT (including walls) was successfully installed, prior to the project completion in early 2021.