The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company, Canmore, Canada

Rather than the “one size fits all” approach oftenemployed by engineers, the collaboration betweenstructural engineer and timber manufacturer enabledthe right connection to be selected for the rightapplication. This limited the number of custom steelfabrications required and ultimately made the designfaster to install and economically feasible. While thesteel fabricators had found the roofline too complicatedto be cost effective, the timber manufacturer’sexperience and computer-controlled shaping equipmentmade it not only possible but also economical. Computer-controlled modelling, design and fabrication reducedcosts for labour and for fabricating complicated designs.Timber was a better fit for implementing the design,suited the mountain architectural style of the town, andprovided the brewery with an attractive feature duringpublic tours.As construction wrapped up in January 2013, even thebuilder noted, “The building was a positive experience.There were no surprises. The wood construction was10% more economical than the steel options priced. Theassembly of the pre-manufactured members andconnections went smoothly. In those rare cases wheresmall adjustments were required on site, they were easyto do. The project could have been completed ahead ofschedule but there was a delay in acquiring some of thebrewing equipment. (Source: Canadian Wood Council/Wood WORKS 2013.)The new Grizzly Paw Brewery opened to production inApril 2013 and started running tours in July of that year.The building is functional, compact and compliments itsscenic location