The Ottawa region has a long and storied history of lumber and woodworking. Initially founded as a logging town, Ottawa’s successes in the wood industry throughout the nineteenth century led in part to its selection as the capital of Canada for Confederation in 1867. The site of 989 Somerset St. W. shares this history, having initially been constructed to be a stair works factory, specializing in hardwood design. Drawing inspiration from the history of this site and its being an accurate indication of the history of the Ottawa region, the proposed new program for 989 Somerset is a wood recycling facility, complete with artisan workshop spaces, and a stone fired pizzeria.

Wood waste, which currently makes up 1/4 of the non-industrial waste produced annually worldwide, will be accepted at this facility free of charge. This wood will be sorted into three categories - hardwoods, softwoods, and composites - and repurposed accordingly. All waste produced in the repurposing of softwoods and composites will be collected, chipped, and used for a carbon neutral biomass heating and steam production system. Similarly, the hardwood scrap will be collected and chipped to be used as fuel for the wood-fired pizza oven. Dividing the building into layered zones based on the type of wood to be processed demands a large scale strategy for the movement of potentially large pieces of wood. In order to accommodate this, a trio of small gantry cranes are placed in multi-storey voids carved into the building. In order to move the smaller chips of wood produced as byproducts from the repurposing of wood, translucent chutes cut through the building’s floors, allowing for easy transport and storage of the chips, as well as filtration of light into the interior workshop spaces.

Location: Ottawa, Canada

Client: Carleton University MArch Studio

Program: Wood Recycling Facility

Date: 2018

Credits: Justin Lewis