Tom Chung, (pictured below) Principal-In-Charge at LWA, explains the design goals of National Museum of Forest Service History. A 2023 WAN Award winner in the Future Projects: Education category, the project is intended to educate the public about the history and ongoing conservation work of the United States Forest Service (USFS).
First of all congratulations on winning in last year's WAN awards. What did it mean to be a WAN award winner?
It’s a great honour to be recognized by our peers for design excellence and especially for WAN given its long history of recognizing excellence in architecture.
What are the benefits to a WAN awards win?
Peer and design award recognition validates our efforts and also congratulates our clients who value good design tremendously and entrust us to deliver that in their commission.
What were the standout challenges involved in your project?
Given the unique attributes of the client who had many wood industry contacts but limited capital resources, we had to design to take advantage of their resources that included material and labour donations which involved developing the design with these specifics in mind while being faithful to our design concept.
What aspect of your project are you most proud of?
The design concept and development of the tree-like columns, which were realized with 16 different species of wood representing the various national forests of the USA. We hope it will inspire the visitors of the museum.
Could you tell us what inspired the design of the museum?
The tree-like columns and folded roof canopy which is the signature design element of the building is inspired by the forests and the mountain landscape; the conservation legacy of the United States Forest Service (USFS) which the museum celebrates and the beautiful mountain landscape which surrounds the museum site.
Could you tell us a bit more about its innovative use of mass timber products?
Given the goal of the museum to be an exhibit in itself, in celebrating wood as a building material, the architecture showcases a wide array of mass timber products. These include Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) walls for gravity and lateral support, Glulam columns and beams, Mass Plywood Panel (MPP) floors, MPP folded roof panels, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) columns, Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) and foremost, 16 different species of solid heavy timber columns and beams crafted by expert timber fabricators for the tree columns.
What do you believe is the secret to your firm's success?
Design creativity combined with dedicated work ethic and commitment to our clients who share our values of great design in service of our community and our environment.
What are you working on next?
We are working simultaneously on the Woodland Wonders Preschool at Auburn University (which also received a WAN Award last year – Gold in its category) and just starting a prototype for mass timber and affordable housing with the New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) for their climate smart grant which they received from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).