# Mass Timber Civic Centres The Marpole Community Centre is Designed by Diamond Schmitt in Vancouver By Amy Duong | Published 2026-05-14 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/marpole-community-centre References: [dsai](http://dsai.ca/)  The Marpole Community Centre is a two-storey, 5,000-square-metre civic facility designed by Diamond Schmitt for the [City of Vancouver](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-rio-ai-city) and the [Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/great-white-north-collection), located in Oak Park. The structure replaces a smaller predecessor and accommodates a gymnasium, fitness centre, field house, multi-purpose rooms for seniors and youth, and a 74-space childcare facility. Underground parking is positioned beneath the building to preserve the surrounding park vegetation. The structural system combines glulam columns and beams, a cross-laminated timber floor system, and a long-span upper roof built from steel wide flange beams and a CLT deck, with timber exposed throughout the interior. The Marpole Community Centre targets [Passive House](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/pocket-passiv) and LEED Gold certifications and has achieved a 41% reduction in embodied carbon. The project is also a pilot for the City of Vancouver's Embodied Carbon Guidelines and is pursuing the CAGBC Zero Carbon Building Design Standard. The building's signature doubly curved cantilever roof is supported by long-span steel beams, with strategic glazing connecting interior spaces to Oak Park's landscape. Image Credit: Diamond Schmitt ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.7/10 - Popularity: 69% | Activity: 30% | Freshness: 72% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Mass Timber Adoption:** Wider use of glulam and cross-laminated timber in mid-rise civic buildings is enabling structurally expressive interiors and lighter foundation requirements compared with conventional concrete and steel. - **Passive House Integration:** Growing incorporation of Passive House principles into public facilities is driving radically lower operational energy profiles and higher envelope performance expectations for community assets. - **Embodied Carbon Reduction:** Performance targets and pilot guidelines for embodied carbon are shifting design priorities toward material transparency and low-carbon product sourcing across project lifecycles. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Civic Architecture:** Design practices focused on community centres and public buildings are increasingly prioritizing biophilic timber aesthetics and multiuse program layouts that redefine civic identity and stakeholder value. - **Construction Materials Manufacturing:** Producers of engineered wood products and low-carbon materials are positioned to scale prefabricated systems that shorten onsite schedules and alter supply chain relationships with contractors. - **Urban Planning and Parks:** Municipal parks and planning departments are aligning site-preserving strategies and below-grade parking solutions with green infrastructure goals, changing how public land is allocated and programmed. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [80s-Inspired Energy Drinks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/monster-energy-ultra-vice-guava.md) - [Split-Toe Sneaker Drops](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mesh-psychic-pink.md) - [Control Center Case Earbuds](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jbl-live-earbuds-range.md) - [Seaweed Biopolymer Tube Lighting](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/slow2.md) - [Pitch Deck Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ai-pitch-deck-generator.md) - [Image Editing Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/circle-crop-image.md) - [Ambient Sound Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/radio-nature.md) - [Calming Baby Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/be-smile.md) - [Emoji Creation Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/emoji-studio.md)