Canfor has initiated a contest which will benefit many communities across the province.
In an effort to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity, Canfor has enlisted the help of major forestry companies as well as architecture firms and builders to design and create playhouses.
“We reached out to the forestry companies and they all agreed to join in the project to compete and make their own playhouse,” Quesnel Canfor employee, Christine Kennedy, said.
This contest aims to spark a friendly competition between forestry companies in the hopes of creating some unique playhouses.
“Some communities will get a playhouse and many communities will be benefitting through the funds raised for Habitat For Humanity,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said as soon as Canfor reached out to forestry companies, there was a great response from the forestry community.
“We’ve gotten a fabulous response from architects, builders and forestry companies,” she explained.
“It’s a fun and community focused project and it will benefit many communities.”
While many of the companies signed on for the project are big firms, Canfor has decided to work with students.
“We have decided to work with students studying architecture at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, who will be competing against big architecture firms,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy explained Canfor chose playhouses as it was a way to appeal to a younger crowd.
“It’s a fun way of reaching out to children and for people to come together,” she said.
Although the competition is in its rookie year, Kennedy is anticipating similar events in the future.
“We hope to keep this going,” she said.
“It’s our first year, so going forward, I’ll sit down with my colleagues and see how it went and how we can replicate it and make it an annual or semi annual event.”
The project will culminate in the display of the playhouses at the PNE between Aug. 18 and Sept. 3.
“This will be a ‘don’t miss’ attraction at this year’s fair,” PNE president and CEO, Michael McDaniel, said.
“We’re thrilled to be able to support this initiative by offering display space and helping bring attention to this wonderful made-in-B.C. project.”
After the playhouses are displayed, they will be auctioned off to corporate sponsors with the funds donated to Habitat For Humanity projects province-wide.
The project has also been generously helped with donated time and materials.
B.C. forest products companies are donating materials, architectural teams are donating their time and expertise and local builders are donating their construction proficiency.
For further information, playhousechallenge.com.