Architectural and civil engineering students from universities across Canada and the United States competed from September 23rd to 26th in the seventh annual TimberFever Design-Build Competition, presented by Moses Structural Engineers Inc. and hosted at Ryerson University. This year, the event was held virtually for a second year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Rather than building on Toronto’s Gould Street, as is the tradition for TimberFever, the organizing committee created a 3D virtual village of Gould Street, in which competitors’ designs were displayed in the 3D model for the public to virtually walk through and explore. Using a virtual format, TimberFever was able to expand its reach and invite students from 13 different universities across Canada and the United States including Ryerson University, McMaster University, University of Waterloo, Purdue University, UCLA, Illinois Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, University of Calgary, University of Windsor, University of Alberta, and Carleton University.

This year’s competition required students to design a Timber Pedestrian Bridge. Teams were directed to pick a theme relating to society and nature to inspire their design. The virtual model of Ryerson University’s Gould Street in downtown Toronto had flooded streets that teams used to design pedestrian bridges to cross over. The competition kicked off with a warm welcome from Dr. Medhat Shehata, Professor and Associate Dean at Ryerson University. Following the welcome, keynote presentations were provided by Dr. Paul Gauvreau, professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, Ryan Zizzo, founder of Mantle Developments, and Luke Anderson, Executive Director of the StopGap Foundation.

During the 4-day event, 10 competing teams used Rhino 3D drafting software to model their designs and RSTAB engineering software to analyze the structural integrity of their bridges. Teams utilized Zoom and Discord to communicate and collaborate virtually throughout the event. Industry mentors composed of practicing architects, engineers, and members from the Carpenters Union Local 27, joined the teams on Zoom to provide guidance on their designs.

On October 6th, the winners were announced during a virtual awards ceremony. First place, second place, third place winners were selected by a panel of industry judges with strong backgrounds in architecture and structural engineering. The winner of the Public Vote Award was selected through online voting by the public. Polls closed with nearly 700 votes. All winners received a cash prize, trophy, and award certificate.

TimberFever Design-Build Competition 2021 winners:

1^st Place Winner: Team Tree
2^nd Place Winner: KNX
3^rd Place Winner: Sticks Together

Honorable mention: Haven Sync
Public Vote Award: Green Dreamers

Click here to download our press kit.