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At the recent 2025 (VRCA) gala, two companies won top-prize gold awards for their work on the Oceanfront Squamish Presentation Centre and Public House.

Naikoon Contracting Ltd. won gold in the General Contractors – Up to $15 Million category, and Kalesnikoff won in the Mass Timber in Manufacturers and Suppliers group.

Located in Squamish, 40 miles north of Vancouver, the 16,748-square-foot presentation centre will showcase Oceanfront Squamish’s condos and town houses that are for sale.

After its function as a sales facility has ended, the presentation centre will become a community gathering place.

Designed by Stephane Laroye Architect Inc. for developer Matthews West Ltd., the Squamish Oceanfront Presentation Centre is an example of sustainable design in a structurally expressive space.

“We’re super-proud and super-pleased to have won,” says Andrew Stiffman, Kalesnikoff vice-president of construction services. “We were competing against some great companies with great projects.

“It’s a beautiful building with a beautiful backdrop. It shows how mass timber can be used in an expressive structure.”

Kalesnikoff provided 85 cubic metres of Douglas Fir Glulam and 501 cubic metres of Spruce-Pine-Fir cross-laminated timber, all sourced within 100 miles of the Kalesnikoff factory.  

Using digital design models, Kalesnikoff worked closely with Naikoon and the rest of the project team to create a construction process that combined off-site fabrication and onsite assembly.

Kalesnikoff says its mass timber combined with Naikoon’s execution “enabled a resilient and weather-adaptive build, and contributed to an airtight, high-performance envelope that exceeds energy model expectations.”

In that way they were able to build the presentation centre’s superstructure in six weeks, despite cold and snowy winter weather.

Kalesnikoff says the project supports cultural storytelling and sustainability.

“It is grounded in place through a deep respect for Indigenous heritage and contextually relevant materials, from reclaimed cedar shingles to artist-led installations.”

The project shows what’s possible when manufacturing precision meets meaningful design intent.

It showcases the strength of local supply chains and achieves technical excellence, and, at the same time, provides a warm, welcoming environment for Squamish residents, businesses and visitors.

“At its heart, this is not just a building, it’s a symbol of what can be achieved through shared vision, smart construction, and materials that tell a local story.”

Naikoon president Joe Geluch, for his part, says he is very pleased for his company to have won gold.

“We’re very excited to have been acknowledged with an award as we grow into larger, more complex projects,” says Geluch. “Our expertise in mass timber, prefabrication and high-performance building envelopes has got us bigger projects.”

Geluch is proud that the “highly technical” project had an all female project team of Eri Uhthoff (project manager) and Diana Carnero (project co-ordinator).

The presentation centre’s foundation is 556 cubic metres. After the pour, which took place in the winter, the outside temperature dropped to -17 C, which threatened the ability of the concrete to set.

Naikoon overcame this challenge by tenting the area and installing a heat pump to keep the concrete at a steady temperature for several days.

The project team faced challenging weather in the summer too.

“It got very windy down Howe Sound,” says Geluch. “It was so windy that our crane had to be shut down a few times. But we were prepared because we had worked in the area in the past and we knew what to expect.”

In order to keep a lid on labour costs and to save time, Naikoon created a nearby lay-down yard, which has evolved to become the company’s present-day The Flying Factory, a mobile pre-fabrication facility.

The 50,000-square-foot yard gave Naikoon full quality-control over the project’s factory-made components.

“The Flying Factory let us pre-apply the roofing membrane and the structural components and then bring them to the building site, which was adjacent to the lay-down yard,” says Geluch. 

Naikoon’s time-saving measures enabled it to beat the inclement weather and erect the building in a month-and-a-half, meeting its target.

“You know it’s been a successful project when the construction manager, the design consultant and the owner are all sitting down and enjoying a nice dinner together,” he says.

The 36th Annual VRCA Awards of Excellence took place Sept. 19 at the JW Marriott Parq in Vancouver.