22 l ROOFINGBC l FALL 2018 PROJECT PROFILE T he students and faculty of the University of Northern British Columbia’s (UNBC) Master of Engineering in Wood Design program now have a new place to call home. Completed in May 2018, the 900-sq.-metre (13,000-sq.-foot) Wood Innovation Research Laboratory (WIRL), located in downtown Prince George, not only provides a new space to build and test large-scale structures using engineered wood products, it also marks a first in North American construction. The research lab is the first educational facility to be constructed to Passive House requirements. “The Passive House concept is all based on the energy consumption of the building once it is complete,” said Project Manager Craig Cocker of IDL Projects, the design- build general contractor for the project. “It’s not like there’s a prescribed method that specifies how thick the insulation or walls should be. It’s all based on how much energy your building is going to need to heat the space, so many factors have to be taken into consideration.” According to Cocker, the WIRL project WOOD INNOVATION RESEARCH LABORATORY First institutional Passive House facility constructed in North America By TANJA NOWOTNY, MEDIAEDGE PUBLISHING WRITER Photos courtesy of UNBC