Wood Awards 2022 shortlist announced

The Wood Awards has announced the 2022 shortlist, revealing a stunning, innovative array of British architecture and product design using wood, all now in the running to receive the highest architecture and design accolade of the UK timber industry.

From more than 200 projects entered, a shortlist of 32 entries has been created which unveils the diverse, creative, and high-quality buildings and furniture being made using the world’s only truly sustainable and renewable material – wood.

Included in the list are some of UK’s leading architects, engineers, product designers and furniture makers, showcasing some of the exciting talent arising from the UK’s domestic timber industry and the wood suppliers who support them.

The Awards are split into two main categories, Furniture & Product and Buildings. Buildings are split by: Commercial & Leisure, Education & Public, Interior, Private and Small Project. Within Furniture & Product, there are three subcategories: Bespoke, Production Made and Student Designer.

Shortlisted projects from the Buildings category are:

• Sport’s Pavilion, Master’s Field, Balliol College, London, (Niall McLaughlin Architects). The pavilion forms part of the Master’s Field development, and sits centrally in the project overlooking the cricket pitch.

• March House, Cookham, (Knox Bhavan Architects). This carefully designed timber home situated on the bank of the Thames has been constructed as a beautiful, flood-resistant, and energy-efficient house to serve the client’s current and future needs.

• Buggy Store at The Farmyard at The Newt, Bruton, (Richard Parr Associates). Inspired by the form of a horseshoe, this project takes advantage of the properties of different wood species to create a sustainable and practical area for guests to park bikes and buggies.

• Abba Arena, London, (Stufish, Stage One, Xylotek). Timber is helping to take visitors on a voyage at ABBA Arena where it is being used for the world’s largest demountable concert venue, including an auditorium, rainscreen, and front of house facilities.

• Equal Access Project – Inner Portico, London, (Caroe Architecture). This carefully executed timber entrance adds to both the functionality and beauty of St Paul’s Cathedral, helping ensure this world-famous icon is a place for all, regardless of faith or mobility needs.

• Mews House, London, (Russell Jones Limited). A relaxed and informal refuge from the world, this sustainable, beautiful urban oasis uses timber as the primary material, both in its structure and finish, to imbue the house with natural warmth.

• The Studio, Aldeburgh, (Sanei Hopkins Architects Ltd). Overlooking the Alde Estuary, The Studio replaces a 1960’s house which had reach the end of its service life.

• Wintringham Primary Academy, Cambridgeshire, (dRMM). Embracing nature with design and materials, this academy provides an inspirational learning environment that prioritises wellbeing and sustainability through the and creation of fluid, multi-use spaces.

• Greyfriars Charteris Centre, Edinburgh, (Konishi Gaffney Architects). This elegant timber refurbishment and extension of a former church provides a flexible workspace, a community hub, an events space and a non-denominational sanctuary.

• The Green House, London, (Hayhurst and Co). A timber superstructure brings together a sustainable family home that is sustainable, practical, and flexible, as well as joyful, playful and full of colour and life.

• Homerton College Dining Hall, Cambridge, (Feilden Fowles). Elegant and impressive, this dining hall celebrates the integrity and inherent beauty of its materials, and craftsmanship, creating a space which is both inspiring and functional for students.

• The Gramophone Works, London, (Studio RHE). This landmark low-carbon urban project has refurbished and extended an existing canal-side building. Using mass timber, it has been increased from two to six storeys, adding 60,000sq ft of office space.

• Clifford’s Tower, York, (Hugh Broughton Architects). These soaring timber columns give rise to a structure which grants the public full access to the monument, provides a striking contrast to the stonework, and lends protection from the elements.

• The Chapel Roof at Radley College, Abingdon, (Purcell). The team at Carpenter Oak used intricate design, complex geometry, and traditional craftsmanship to make this handcrafted oak octagonal roof structure.

• Douglas Fir House, London, (Christian Brailey Architects). Conceived as a single piece of cabinetry and crafted out of a single material – Canadian Douglas Fir – this ambitious extension was craned onto site before being nestled into this lush private garden.

• The Threshing Barn, Willesborough, (RJP Architects). A large, Grade II listed 18^thCentury threshing barn, which has been carefully repaired and refurbished with a reliance on traditional skills.

• Brent Cross Pavilion, London, (Moxon). This beautiful new facility embraces larch and spruce both in its structure and interior to provide a warm, welcoming gateway; and stands as a herald to an exciting new 180-acre development.

• Old Four Row, Lincoln, (Daykin Marshall Studio). ‘A 21st-century mini medieval timber hall’, this Oak frame extension to a listed building in a quiet Lincolnshire village complements the stone gables of the original 1860s design.

• UK Hardwoods Storage Building, South Molton, (Buckland Timber). Using timber from the client’s own land which had been earmarked for felling due to larch disease, this truly local collaboration set out to build the largest UK-grown glulam structure ever made.

• The Water Tower, Castle Acre, (Tonkin Liu). Saved from the scrapyard, the conversion of this tower using timber into a private home means it can remain standing proudly above the barley fields, overlooking its beloved village of Castle Acre.

Jim Greaves, Chairman of the Building Category says: “The Wood Awards are the highest accolade of the UK timber industry, and each year we see the quality continually improving. This year’s shortlisted projects demonstrate that the UK has some of the most exciting timber talent in the world.

“The shortlisted schemes comprise a wide range of building types that have been selected from a longlist of 128 entries. Not surprisingly each scheme has been chosen because of the excellent quality of their individual design and construction.

“In a world seeking answers to the climate crisis, wood stands out as a material for our built environment because of its low carbon, biophilic and regenerative potential.

“All shortlisted schemes will be exhibited at the upcoming Wood Awards exhibition at the Material Matters fair being held as a part of the London Design Festival this month, as well as at the Building Centre from October through to December.”

Shortlisted projects from the Furniture and Product category are:

• Alder Hey Foraging Collection, Liverpool (H Miller Bros). Children are central to the design ethos of this set of foraging tools and mobile foraging larder, as they are for the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital where they now reside to playfully inspire.

• Wave Bench, Liverpool (Chris Miller Design). Inspired by a love of pattern and a desire to use waste materials, this bench demonstrates we can make beautifully crafted, visually exciting, and functional furniture within a zero-waste philosophy.

• Fenland Black Oak CIO, Ely (Mauro Dell’Orco). Following the discovery of an extraordinary piece of Bog Oak, 13 metre long, 5000-year-old planks were cut and crafted into a table that connects ancient forests and local community.

• Furniture For 2 Bessborough Street, London, (Mentsen). Echoing the geometry and solidity of the Grade II listed office building, for which it was designed, the collection includes sofa, coffee table, armchair, and side table.

• MIgo, Kintbury (Pascal Hien). Conceived during the pandemic, a time of change, uncertainty, and rapid adaption, this furniture piece is designed with no definitive front or back, or right or wrong approach to using it.

• RoundOak Chairs, Newhaven (Fowler & Co). Ben Fowler’s lifelong love of boat building informs much of his design and never more so than his beautifully made Roundwood Chair. The chair’s clean, contemporary lines and graceful curves are expressive of its simple, yet well-considered construction.

• IO Collection, (Lars Beller Fjetland). Elegant while friendly in form and character, the IO Collection demonstrates the meaningful relationships between objects and their users, throughout a product’s lifespan.

• Reprise Chair, Princes Risborough, (Norm Architects). Using traditional woodturning and steam-bending techniques, the Reprise Chair reflects a classic design from the ‘50’s exhibiting the extensive legacy of L. Ercolani’s heritage as craftsmen of solid wood furniture.

• Pebble Table, Mark Thomas, (City and Guilds University). Inspired by the distinctive natural contours of pebbles found on the beaches in St Leonards, East Sussex, this piece appears as if sculpted from one solid piece of wood.

• Oak Desk with Upstand, Holly Timmis, (Building Crafts College. Designed with personal use in mind, the student sought to create a piece which was unique, practical, and beautiful, while allowing them to explore technical challenges.
• Veneer Stool, Henry Johnson (Nottingham Trent University). Veneers are commonly used to imitate a more expensive and solid piece of wood, but in this design the material has been embraced, displayed, and celebrated.
• Chord Chair, Sam Whyman (Waters and Acland Furniture School). Combining Danish mid-century design with contemporary influence, this student design includes woven lumbar support which offers firm but gentle support to the lower back.

Corinne Julius, Head of the Furniture and Product Judges, says: “The Wood Awards was set up to encourage beautiful and thoughtful designs in wood and this year’s shortlist does just that. We are showcasing some very exciting work by some of the most interesting designers and makers in the UK, both those who are already established and others just starting out.”

“Our shortlisted entries manifest how objects thoughtfully designed in wood can shape, enhance and enrich our lives.

“We are especially pleased that after the hiatus of Covid, we can bring back the Student Category, of Awards. The competition was intense and high quality, giving us confidence in the future of design in wood in the UK.

“We are delighted to showcase these furniture pieces during the London Design Festival, very appropriately at Material Matters, to show a wider and more diverse audience the excitement of wood.”

The Wood Awards shortlist will be on display at three locations over the next four months this year including from 22 – 25 September at Gallery@Oxo in partnership with the Material Matters Exhibition during London Design Festival.

During late October until December a special exhibition at the Building Centre which showcases the building shortlist with building models and a series of talks. The winner of the Wood Awards will be announced on 23 November during a Winners’ Ceremony at Carpenter’s Hall.