Author’s Note: I regret to inform you that this article is in fact solely regarding the construction of a cabin in an alpine (porcupine) environment, and how to do so in a cost-effective manner.
It does not contain a sliver of insight about how to hold these animals accountable for their crimes against humanity, the Earth, or God.

Moving Heavy Timber (and heavy rocks) without Cranes
Our helicopter-driven planning decisions did not stop with the material movement. When looking at the big pieces of a timberframe or mass timber assembly it is very tempting to “just lift it with the helicopter” – but that approach is very expensive. In addition to being cost-sensitive, we were aware we needed to avoid lost days or weeks because of weather, forest fires, or other delays. Everything would have to be lifted and placed in the old-fashioned way.

Using 3" T&G instead of large-panel products like DLT or CLT was a deliberate choice. With T&G, we could hand-place everything, even the enormous roof timbers, using only simple mechanical lifting techniques. The result was a structure that has all the benefits of mass timber but could be entirely assembled by a five-person crew. Timbers were kept to a manageable length, and all were tilted or lifted using traditional rigging techniques.

We considered excavating “the old-fashioned way” as well but this proved to be an unpopular suggestion in the early design meetings (the people who would end up holding the shovels were the ones making these strategy choices). In one of our more unusual steps, we disassembled an excavator, slung it in piece by piece, then reassembled it on site. 

This turned out to be a lucky choice. We had based our estimates on the anecdotal information we had from the original decades old surveys which suggested that the site was entirely composed of alluvial gravel and sand. It seems that the gravel grew quite healthily over the intervening years and the sand just up and left because what we found were thousand-pound boulders with subterranean rivers running between them. It took more than a few broken jackhammer bits, but we eventually installed the footings, and the commotion was enough to keep our needly friends at bay—at least temporarily. 

Staging a Remote Jobsite
The staging area at Mount Robson has a healthy and thriving wildlife population. What it doesn’t have is power, cell coverage, or unloading equipment of any kind. That reality shaped our logistics plan as much as any design decision. Every delivery had to be loaded onto trailers in reverse order — carefully packed so the helicopter could lift directly from the deck without us needing to shuffle material on the ground.

To further optimize material movement, we coordinated extensively with the helicopter company to the extent of choreographing load weights so that the first load of each fuel cycle was the lightest and the final the heaviest — taking advantage of the aircraft’s increasing lift capacity as it burned fuel. All materials were weighed, labelled, and palletized in advance, and we built custom crates that not only protected sensitive materials but were designed to be repurposed as part of the hut’s structure, eliminating waste and saving flight time.

In mountain construction, the helicopter dictates the schedule. Weather can shut down flying for days or weeks without warning. In bad forest fire years, construction flights can be grounded for months, as all available aircraft are diverted to firefighting. For that reason, we moved the bulk of the building materials as soon as the snow melted, even before the site had been fully cleared.

On site, our five-person crew lived in a temporary camp that we built early in the project. With no infrastructure available, we tapped a creek higher on the slope to create a running water system using hydrostatic pressure, installed a full kitchen, and even put in a shower powered by an instantaneous gas water heater. Starlink was, of course, non-negotiable. All of it was enclosed within an electric bear fence, although, in an unexpected twist, we never saw a bear and instead had porcupines eat the decking off our scaffolding! Porcupines eating our tent platforms! Porcupines refusing to move off the trail between tents and outhouse exactly when we did not have a moment to spare!

We never really figured out the solution to the porcupines, to be honest. 

Working with mass timber

Working with a new building method and material naturally came with lessons learned for both Cantwell and Lalonde. 

Fire resistance rating was top of mind for Lalonde. In a multi-storey building, floors must be rated for one-hour fire separation. To fire-rate steel structures you need to encapsulate with drywall or spray with a fire-resistant coating. 

“[Spray coating] is very messy, and I've done it before, and I swore I would never do it again,” Lalonde says with a laugh. 

Mass timber components such as CLT have been proven to exceed fire-rating requirements. In a fire event, the dense wood forms a carbon layer on the surface that slows down combustion. Picture a log on the fire – it can take hours to burn through a single log, slowly smoldering away.

Acoustic ratings stood out for Cantwell. A typical building would have dropped ceilings with acoustic panels between. Exposing the mass timber ceilings removes that option and limits how you can dampen the sound between floors. 

Originally their design had a poured concrete topping over each floor, but that would not have met acoustic ratings. The team pivoted and went with a Pliteq rubber floor system. The system layers rubber and gypsum and is assembled as tiles over the floor. 

“We were quite relieved. It performs very well,” Cantwell says. “You can be working on a floor below and you have a crew upstairs doing piping or whatever and you don’t hear them.”

Both project managers noted the learning curve to working with mass timber as both structural components and a final product. Extra care was required during construction beyond what you would see when building with steel and concrete that will eventually be covered by other materials. 

“From the day of erection you have it in the back of your mind that you want to get this building closed in so that nothing happens to the mass timber,” Cantwell says. 

At the same time, both Cantwell and Lalonde note that wood by nature is a resilient material that is easily fixed with simple tools. 

“It’s a natural product so there are random patterns, small knots, or little blemishes already that hide all kinds of sins,” Lalonde says. 

Sticking to schedule 

Construction speed is one of the strengths of mass timber, and Mi’kma’ki Place was no exception. The five-storey structure went up in just 16 weeks. 

Incredibly, those weeks were in the dead of winter and included a record snowfall for the province, which locals refer to as Snowmaggedon. Sydney saw upwards of 150 centimeters of snow over three days. 

Despite her best efforts, Mother Nature couldn’t prevent the builders from reaching the finish line. 

“We probably would have been ahead of schedule at least a week or more if we didn’t get Snowmageddon in February. Things shut down here for about a week. It was pretty impressive to see [the build] happen and for it to be on schedule,” Cantwell says.

Taking a closer look at sequence and timeline, the building’s concrete foundation was poured in summer 2023, followed by exterior concrete walls with bases and pilasters to house anchor bolts. 

The mass timber structure went vertical in December that year. 18”X18” glulam columns, each with a steel base plate, were attached to the anchor bolts in a grid pattern. 14”X24” girders were then attached to the columns and 8”X20”purlins on top of that sitting at 90 degrees. Each level was finished with a CLT deck 3-1/2” that acts as both ceiling and floor of the next level.

Exterior walls went up at roughly the same time as each level in an effort to seal off and protect the mass timber, Cantwell says. The final CLT roof deck with a modified bitumen roof product completed the mass timber structure on schedule in March 2024. 

“It was quite something to see,” Lalonde says of the build process. “It went together like so many children’s building blocks.”

The exterior features curved parapets made of CNC-machined glulam that wrap around the second storey, acting as an overhang. It’s a unique mass timber detail that was designed and installed with care, Cantwell says, and the results are worth it. 

The completed building is striking. Exterior walls are clad with a steel rain screen system, finished with a phenolic resin in a striking orange colour. A subtle wood-grain texture nods to the mass timber interior.

Completion and Looking Forward
We approached this project with an obsession over coordination, continuity, and an extreme amount of planning. Our in-house project managers handled everything from layout and design concepts during the RFP response preparation, to prefabrication, to final installation. That continuity — experienced designers building what they themselves conceived — was a huge contributor to the success of this project.

Mass timber is often discussed in the context of urban density and carbon storage, but in an alpine setting, its advantages are more visceral. Timber feels warm in cold landscapes. It absorbs sound in a way that makes even small spaces feel calm. It tolerates rapid temperature swings that can tear apart lighter building systems. And most importantly for a remote hut: it endures.

The Robson Pass Cabin is a simple, practical, design and aesthetic — one that feels completely at home in its surroundings. Although the design is modest, there is an easy clarity to it. The deep overhangs, the oversized roof beams, and the clean geometry of the frame express the real forces at work in an alpine environment without any ornament or architectural flourish. It looks built for the landscape, not imposed upon it.

All parties leaned on the expertise of Quebec-based mass timber manufacturer Nordic Structures, Cantwell says, which supplied the glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT) for the 90,000 square-foot structure.

Right from the initial design process, strong, consistent communication was essential for a smooth, efficient build.

“From Day 1 we had everyone involved in the design process,” Cantwell says. “We had Membertou, ourselves, our consultants and subcontractors meeting together to go through the process. There are certainly lots of benefits to doing it that way. It’s a bit of an open book – you’re able to discuss any challenges you might have immediately as opposed to going back and forth between parties to find solutions.”