KELOWNA – The jewel on Kelowna’s waterfront, the new Kelowna Yacht Club, has received double honours from the BC chapter of the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association.

The elegant wood stairwell in the centre of the new clubhouse was designed by Meiklejohn Architects of Kelowna, who were honoured as top architect for the province for the project, receiving the 2015 Jack Sigurdson Award. Top 40 Woodworks from Kamloops who did the millwork received the 2015 Gold Award in the small commercial category.

“It’s an honour to take a concept and bring it to fruition and in this case the result it is indeed a piece of art,” says Top 40 Woodworks owner Jack Mendes. “We’ve done this for a long time and once in a while you get an opportunity to really showcase what your capacity is as a team. We’re taking a lot of pride in this project.”

Meiklejohn Architects feels the honour is well delivered by Top 40 Woodworks and applauds them for their commitment to excellence and credits them as going above and beyond for a project that architect Jim Meiklejohn describes as “hard to design, hard to construct and one that became a labour of love.”

“It’s rare to see a trade take something and make it better that the design team envisions – all for the betterment of the Club,” adds project architect Stoke Tonne. “The stairwell is really the signature of the building on the inside and creates that wow factor for the public and the members that come into the building."

“The team succeeded in creating the wow factor,” agrees project manager Gord Sandrin of Sawchuk Developments, lead contractor for the clubhouse construction, “it’s something Kelowna should be very proud of.”

Meiklejohn Architects Inc was selected architect through an Architectural Institute of BC sanctioned design competition organized by the Kelowna Yacht Club. Their design offered a simple and elegant use of distinctly nautical forms, materials and shapes.