The exciting announcement that The City of Prince George was to host the 2015 Canada Winter Games instigated plans to upgrade the Kin Centre Complex. A 1970s-era arena was demolished and replaced with a new 1700-seat Kin 1 Arena, hosting short-track speed skating events on its Olympic-size ice.
To meet British Columbia’s Wood First Initiative, Fast + Epp envisioned a roof solution that would almost-exclusively use local spruce, pine and fir, including pine-beetle-kill lumber. We took great care in the form and detailing of the structure, which ultimately became the dominant architectural expression for the complex.
Our roof solution consisted of prefabricated glue-laminated panels, 600mm wide by 130mm deep. These mass timber panels (in conjunction with a plywood skin) provide a natural roof support system and diaphragm, without the need for any additional in-plane horizontal bracing. Intentional gaps between occasional timber panels allowed us to conceal piping and conduits, and gently-curving steel beams serve as a natural counterpoint to the timber construction.
2015 Award of Excellence
Now a legacy facility, Kin Centre Complex and its showstopper Kin 1 Arena host other provincial and national tournaments, with reconfigured NHL-size ice. These events stimulate the local economy and celebrate wood innovation in British Columbia’s North.
