The Wood Awards shortlist exhibition was on display in the Building Centre's Window Gallery from 31 October-10 December 2022. A special exhibit of building models from the shortlist was on display, accompanied by a series of talks from the leading timber talents behind these incredible buildings.
Established in 1971, the Wood Awards is the UK’s premier competition for excellence in architecture and product design in wood. The competition is free to enter and aims to encourage and promote outstanding timber design, craftsmanship and installation. Explore this showcase to discover how this wonder material is helping us to build a beautiful, sustainable, low-carbon world. Explore the shortlisted entries at the Building Centre.
From more than 200 projects entered, a shortlist of 32 entries has been created which celebrates the diverse, creative, and high-quality buildings and furniture made using the world’s foremost sustainable and renewable material – wood. Within the Wood Awards 2022 shortlist, you will find 20 structures and 12 product designs that showcase the very best of British design ingenuity. These range from large commercial spaces to schools, private homes and beautiful pieces of furniture. Each of our shortlisted entries tells a story about the ways wood can transform and enhance our surroundings. Amidst a climate crisis, these stories are important. Wood is an incredible natural material that has a crucial role in helping us to reduce our carbon emissions.
Discover how this wonder material is helping us to build a beautiful, sustainable, and low-carbon world.
Explore the Wood Awards 2022 showcase here.
Wood products act as a form of carbon capture and storage, with an average of 0.9 tonnes of CO2 sequestered within 1m2 of wood. And sustainable sourcing means that for every tree harvested, several more are planted - promoting forest growth. The virtuous circle between designing with wood and growing our forests is already proven to work. Through this approach, forest areas in Europe and the United States have been growing in size for more than half a century, adding millions of hectares of new trees. Now, through the work of talented architects, engineers, designers, material scientists, contractors and installers, wood is providing an alternative to carbon-intensive materials like cement, steel, and plastic.
In a world seeking answers to the climate crisis, wood stands out as a perfect material for our built environment because of its low carbon, biophilic and regenerative potential. This year’s shortlisted projects demonstrate how wood is transforming the UK.
BUILDING JUDGES
Jim Greaves (Chair), Hopkins Architects
Andrew Lawrence, ARUP
Kirsten Haggart. Waugh Thistleton Architects
Nathan Wheatley, engenuiti
David Morley, David Morley Architects
Ruth Slavid, architectural journalist
Jonas Lencer, dRMM
Andrew Trotman, timberwright
FURNITURE JUDGES
Corinne Julius (Chair), design critic, curator and journalist
Oliver Stratford, Disegno
Sebastian Cox, Sebastian Cox Ltd
Eleanor Lakelin, maker in wood
Yael Mer, Raw-Edges
Rod Wales, Wales & Wales
