September 24, 2025

As part of the 41st Wood Design & Building Awards program, Sam Centre has been selected by the jury as a recipient of a WoodWorks Prairie Award in the non-residential category!

This prestigious awards program recognizes and celebrates the outstanding work of architectural professionals from Canada and around the world for excellence in wood design and construction.

“The diversity and creativity in this year’s winning projects demonstrate how wood can connect people with nature,” says Martin Richard, Vice President of Communications and Market Development at the Canadian Wood Council (CWC). “These designs not only showcase wood’s versatility, but also create spaces that enrich daily life and support community well-being.

Sam Centre is a year-round immersive experience that brings the ‘world of the Calgary Stampede’ to life through technology, story-making, and Western hospitality, with flexible spaces for multimedia showcases, exhibitions, public programs, and artifact and archival collections.

The use of mass timber was a key strategy in connecting to the history of the Stampede and its historical agricultural structures. Wood was also chosen for its sustainability and reduced carbon footprint, cost-effectiveness, efficiency in construction, aesthetics, and structural performance. 

Comprised of 30,000 square feet Sam Centre is expressed as a one-level linear volume characterized by a large horizontal pitched roof. Its structure combines a repetitive hybrid steel frame with exposed mass timber beams, adding natural warmth to the interior and creating a distinctive profile that offers a modern yet durable nod to traditional barn construction. 

Overhanging soffits help mitigate heating and cooling loads while recalling the welcoming verandahs of traditional Alberta architecture. A raised clerestory creates a beacon for visitors, bringing in natural light by day and creating a glowing lantern at night. On the interior, a Douglas fir acoustic ceiling system, Douglas fir soffit ceiling, and a white oak raised access floor add durable finishes that complement the mass timber structure.

The Sam Centre’s relationship to its surroundings is equally important. Its edges are activated by a café, integrated benches at the exterior walls, generous roof overhangs with Douglas fir soffits that extend toward the public realm, and landscaped areas that frame the adjacent avenue.

See the full list of this year’s Wood Design & Building Award recipients here.