The West is the Best
Western Red Cedar is one of the most familiar of Canadian timber species and has been at the heart of cladding here in the UK for some time. With the help of the Western Red Cedar Export Association, we report on why it is such a success and what it can achieve.
Centuries ago, native peoples of the Pacific Northwest called the stately western red
cedar the ‘Tree of Life’. Its durability made it the preferred choice for building ocean-going canoes, post-and-beam houses, ceremonial dance masks and ancestral totem poles.
And for many years, discerning architects and builders across North America and around the world have enhanced their projects with this beautiful and durable material.
Nature still knows best. Despite all efforts at imitation, no man-made product can match the performance qualities of western red cedar. It is a timber that delivers a superior design and construction material in so may applications, some of which are illustrated here. Good design improves our quality of life and, in the field of building design, western red cedar has the performance history, handling and finishing qualities to make a special, lasting contribution.
In 2004, the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association [www.wrcla.org] inaugurated the Real Cedar Design Excellence Award as part of The Wood Design Awards, the only annual awards program to recognize and publicise the design excellence in wood architecture from the USA and
Canada. The Real Cedar Design Excellence Award is given for the exceptional and inventive use of western red cedar. The WRCLA is the parent organisation for the Western Red Cedar Export Association (www.wrcea.org) that is responsible for the promotion of Western Red Cedar in market outside of North America.
A sumptuous example of western red cedar use can be seen in one of the 2004 winners of the Real Cedar Exellence Award – the Abbe Science Centre, Solebury School in new Hope, Pennsylvannia. The centre is part of a 75-year old private school and has the feel of a modern schoolhouse and barn conversion. The steel frame houses classrooms, a greenhouse, teacher work areas and a two-storey student lounge. Western red cedar siding of the one-storey classrooms has a stylised ‘corn crib’ appearance and switches to horizontal battens on flush siding at the lounge. A pattern of small rectangular, boxed in windows have visual appeal while offering vignettes of the out door landscape. The building was commended and gioven the award for its creative cedar siding profile design and its application on a non-residential building.
British Columbia, the main source of western red cedar, is a leader in third-party sustainable forest management certification, with an area almost as large as the UK certified under one of three proven standards. The three certification methods used in BC are – the Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – these all involve independent, qualified third-party audits that measure company’s planning, practices, systems and performance. They all ensure that forest management promotes sustainability. They all examine how operations address a range of forest values such as biological diversity, wildlife habitat, soils and water resources.
Furthermore, they all ensure that harvested areas are reforested, that laws are complied with, and that there is no unauthorised or illegal logging. Finally, all three certification methods have non-industry participants and publicly release audit results. Virtually every major BC forest company, and many smaller ones, operates on certified lands. Customers can be assured that if a supplier is issued a certificate demonstrating certification to the CSA, SFI or FSC standards, the western red cedar products they supply come from sustainable and well-managed forests.
The coastal temperate rainforests of BC’s Central Coast are a biologically diverse landscape prized by the public for both its timber values and a desire for protection. These old growth forests cover a vast area of coastal BC and are home to a variety of wildlife species as well as providing an important role in the economy and social well being of the Province.
BC’s coastal forest companies believe in providing their customers with wood that come from well-managed forests that are sustainable. Western red cedar is a terrific natural and renewable product that grows abundantly in coastal BC. The combination of such a great product that comes from a truly sustainable forest is a powerful message in the marketplace.
