Beginning in 1971, the Wood Awards is the UK's premier competition for wood design and construction. By recognizing and rewarding outstanding wood design, craftsmanship and installation, and by showing how wood transforms and enriches our lives, the Wood Awards act as a vehicle for positive change in our architectural environment.
The submission is divided into buildings and furniture and products with categories such as 'Commercial & Leisure', 'Education & Public Sector', 'Interior', 'Private', 'Small Projects' and also "To order", "Production", and "Student" respectively.
This covers a wide range of projects, with one additional category introduced in 2022: "Restoration & Reuse", which recognizes how wood preserves and enhances our architectural heritage – and, importantly, – reduces carbon content in construction.
The prestigious gold award is given to an outstanding project that, in the opinion of the judges, is the overall winner among the winners. In addition to the Gold Award, other awards that may be awarded at the judges' discretion include the Structure Award and, for the first time, the newly introduced Sustainability Award.
The Wood Awards is unique. It is a non-profit organization that is purely committed to celebrating excellence. It also has an elite independent panel of judges who assess all submissions and personally visit each shortlisted project. This makes the Wood Awards extremely tough.
Corinne Julius, chairman of the jury for furniture and products, says: "Wood— a wonderful and often underrated environmental material. This is self-explanatory material that deserves more respect. The Wood Awards aim to showcase the beauty and versatility of wood to the public and highlight its ability to connect us with the natural world. "
An exhibition of the 34 projects shortlisted for this year's Wood Awards will be presented at Gallery@Oxo as part of the Material Matters fair during the London Design Festival.
Held at the iconic Bargehouse on Oxo Tower Wharf on London's Southbank, Material Matters celebrates the importance of materials and their ability to shape our experience of life. Dedicated to celebrating excellence in wood design and manufacture, the Wood Awards are delighted to be working with Material Matters to highlight the significant talent in wood design in the UK.
