Photos: Andrew Latreille Photography

This Cedar Book spotlight looks at how the cedar-clad Granary fosters community with beautiful homes and a stunning social hub.

A vision of connecting people with farming and food. That was the brief from Century Group, developers of Southlands: a modern “Agri-Hood” in Tsawwassen, BC, where homes, farms, and food culture are deeply intertwined.

Designed by MOTIV Architects, The Granary brings that vision to life. It serves as a mixed-use hub with a brewery, a restaurant, and a residential courtyard. The design follows the rhythms of agriculture and leans on the warmth of natural materials. The site sits just 1.5 metres above sea level – a familiar coastal challenge. The team needed to elevate habitable spaces without disconnecting them from the land.

The solution was a thoughtful arrangement of barn-like gables and edible landscapes that feel grounded, generous, and distinctly local. And central to that solution is the extensive use of Western Red Cedar —an approach recognized with a 2025 Wood Design Award in the Real Cedar category.

Defining spaces with finish detailing

Central to that award-winning approach, cedar appears throughout the project in cladding, soffits, balconies, and custom screen elements. These strategic applications reinforce the agricultural references while delivering durability, ease of installation, and environmental performance. The brewery and restaurant buildings use black-stained board-and-batten cedar, and their chamfered gables open to frame a welcoming terrace. The residential units shift lighter, with washed-white cedar soffits and balconies that soften the massing and create a calm backdrop for community gatherings.

“Cedar connects us to the agricultural past,” says principal architect Asher deGroot. “It feels right for a place that’s about food, farming, and community. It weathers naturally and ages with the buildings—it becomes part of the landscape.”

To extend that connection to the landscape, the team chose cedar in part to support the project’s sustainability goals. As part of the larger Southlands development, all stormwater on site is reused for adjacent farmland irrigation. The landscape is filled with edible plantings— lavender, rosemary, barley, blueberries, hops. Meanwhile cedar, as a renewable and carbon-storing material, aligns with the low-impact ethos.

For architects working at the intersection of place-based design, food systems, and climate-conscious construction, The Granary offers a compelling example of how Western Red Cedar can help deliver on both vision and values.

Real Cedar Specifications

GRADE – Siding: KD NLGA 200c B Clear, Interior: NLGA 204a Select Knotty, Soffits: KD Select Knotty

SIZE – Siding: boards 1×8 and 1×2 battens, and 1×6 for board on board, Brewery interior: 1×6 T&G,  Residential decking soffits and walls: 1×3

FASTENING Stainless steel

APPLIED FINISH – Soffits and residential balconies: Washed white 21 Sansin SDF Environ stain, Siding: Onyx 27 Sansin SDF Environ stain

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Download the digital edition or order a free hard copy of Cedar Book XVIII to explore the latest in contemporary wood design.