This new Childcare Facility in Castlegar BC provides the community with much needed child care and after school care spaces. Located in central Castlegar next to the City’s main community centre, playground, and skatepark, the colourful face of the building provides a playful and distinguishing feature to welcome children and their families. The building entrance becomes a characteristic and place-making element within the overall Community Complex site, featuring brightly stained cedar shingles with a colour palette inspired by the surrounding buildings and trees. The Client championed ambitious sustainability targets for this project, and the design and construction team were excited to utilize locally produced wood products from the new Mass Timber facility just kilometres down the road. Designed to achieve Step Code 4 equivalency energy targets, the building’s CLT walls and roof improve the air tightness of the building envelope, while the exposed mass timber surfaces create a natural and inviting environment for the children and their families. The structure establishes an open and flexible floorplan that allows the interior spaces to be programmed to accommodate the operator’s needs.