FROM A WOODLAND primary school, a low-carbon community centre and a modular home in the wilderness of Scotland, through to a communal table for pounding fufu, this year’s Wood Awards shortlist reflects the versatility of timber.
First established in 1971, the Wood Awards are the UK’s foremost competition celebrating outstanding architecture, structures, furniture items and objects made using wood.
From more than two hundred entries, eighteen buildings and fifteen furniture projects were selected by the judging panel of leading architects, engineers, designers, artists, critics and sustainability experts.
Ranging from a multi-storey light industrial workspace to a tiny hand-built woodland sauna, and from high-tech low-waste lounge chairs to intimately crafted sculptures, this expansive and inspiring shortlist represents the best in British timber design, craftsmanship and installation.
The awards are split into two main categories: Buildings and Furniture & Objects. Buildings is further split into: Commercial & Leisure, Education & Public Sector, Interior, Private Sector, Restoration & Reuse and Small Project. Within Furniture & Objects there are four subcategories: Bespoke, Production, Student Designer and, from this year, Sculptured Objects.
Opening an exciting new door for the Wood Awards, the introduction of the Sculptured Objects category will provide a platform for makers to push the boundaries of traditional woodworking and explore new forms of expression.
Each of the shortlisted projects will now be viewed and assessed in-person by the expert panel of independent judges. Winners and highly commended projects will be selected from all ten categories. These projects will then be considered for the Gold Award — the UK’s best timber building — and the Structural Award, as well as for Sustainability and Research & Innovation Awards, given at the judges’ discretion.
Jim Greaves, head of the Buildings judging panel, says: “The quality and breadth of this year’s Wood Awards entries has made the selection process an exciting and difficult challenge for our judges.
“From a longlist of 80 entries, we have selected 18 projects across a wide range of typologies which demonstrate the creativity and talent of contemporary timber design and construction in the UK.
“Each year it is interesting to see the innovative ways the industry is responding to the crucial challenges of our time, not least the climate crisis.
“Entwining environmentally conscious design principles with good design, these projects reveal the special role that wood can play in creating a more sustainable built environment.
“All shortlisted schemes [were]exhibited at the … Wood Awards exhibition at the Material Matters fair being held as a part of the London Design Festival.”
The Buildings panel is chaired by Jim Greaves, Principal at Hopkins Architects; he is joined by returning judges Kirsten Haggart (Waugh Thistleton), Andrew Lawrence (ARUP), Jonas Lencer (dRMM), David Morley (David Morley Architects), Ruth Slavid (Architecture journalist), Neil Smith (Max Fordham), Andrew Trotman (Timberwright) and Nathan Wheatley (Engenuiti).
Sebastian Cox, head of the Furniture & Object judging panel, says: “The Wood Awards is an incredibly high calibre award that provides a valuable opportunity to showcase UK designers, craftspeople and makers working in interesting ways with wood.
“We are delighted to be exhibiting the shortlisted furniture items and objects at Material Matters, as part of the London Design Festival, and sharing them with a wide design audience.
“Each item will now be reviewed by our new panel of respected industry judges – each bringing expertise from different spheres of the world of wood, from furniture retail and sustainability consultancy to design, making and curation. With the introduction of the Sculptured Object category to the 2024 shortlist, we are excited to be able to offer artisans and sculptors a platform to exhibit their unique wood-based creations.”
The full shortlist was on display at a free exhibition at Gallery@Oxo as part of Material Matters from Wednesday 18-Saturday 21 September.
The winners of the Wood Awards will be announced on the 20 November, at an evening ceremony held at Carpenter’s Hall, London.
As a not-for-profit competition, the Wood Awards can only happen with collaborative industry sponsorship. A huge thank you for continued support from Carpenters Company, American Hardwood Export Council and Timber Development UK.
See page 19 of our October/November 2024 issue on our Back Issues page.
