The Wood Awards

The Wood Awards The Wood Awards is the UK’s premier competition for excellence in architecture and product design in the world's only naturally sustainable material. Ltd.

The Wood Awards is the UK’s premier competition for excellence in architecture and design in the world’s only naturally sustainable material. As a not-for-profit competition, the Wood Awards is free to enter and can only happen with collaborative industry sponsorship. Winning a Wood Award has become a ‘mark of excellence’ and to ensure that the competition is as rigorous as possible our elite pane

l of judges visit all of the shortlisted projects in person. Winners of the Arnold Laver Gold Award, the winner of winners, have included the Rothschild Foundation by Stephen Marshall Architects, The Hurlingham Club Outdoor Pool by David Morley Architects, and most recently, the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft by Adam Richards Architects. Other 2014 Wood Awards winners included the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe Theatre by McCurdy & Co., Endless Stair by dRMM Architects and Hat Tree by Fowler & Co.

What can softwoods unlock in architecture?From structural systems to interiors and cladding, different softwood species ...
14/05/2026

What can softwoods unlock in architecture?

From structural systems to interiors and cladding, different softwood species bring different qualities to architecture.

Larch offers durability and texture, weathering naturally over time.

Spruce enables lightweight, engineered systems with precision and adaptability.

Douglas fir combines structural strength with warmth and refinement.

Across Wood Awards projects, it’s this understanding of material that often shapes the final architectural outcome.

If timber plays a central role in your project, we’d love to see your entry.

Entries are open until 22 May 2026.
Enter via the link in our bio.



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Credits:

🔸 The Drying Shed Sauna | Small Project Highly Commended 2024
Architect: Built Works
Client: Architects Holiday
Species: Larch (UK), Alder (Estonia), White Oak (USA), Silver Birch (UK), Spruce (Europe)
Photographer: Holly Ferrier / Built Works

🔹 Stroud Christian Community Chapel | Education & Public Sector Highly Commended 2020
Architect: Nicolas Pople Architects
Structural Engineer: Corbett & Tasker
Wood Supplier & Joinery: ZÜBLIN Timber GmbH
Species: Spruce and fir (Germany)

🔸 The Mews House | Private Winner 2021
Architect: Russell Jones Limited
Structural Engineer: Techniker Consulting Structural Engineers
Species: Douglas fir, European larch, larch glulam beams
Photographer: French + Tye

🎓 Student DesignerThis category celebrates the next generation of designers and makers, recognising outstanding student ...
08/05/2026

🎓 Student Designer

This category celebrates the next generation of designers and makers, recognising outstanding student work that explores the creative and technical potential of timber.

From reinterpreting traditional forms to experimenting with process, material and narrative, these projects reflect curiosity, skill and a strong sense of direction. Each offers a glimpse into the future of design, where craftsmanship, innovation and personal perspective come together.

Recent winners have explored themes ranging from identity and representation to material honesty and reinterpretation of historic craft, demonstrating the breadth and ambition of emerging talent working with wood today.

Selected winners:
🔹 2025: Her Captain’s Chair
🔸 2024: Karl and Rita
🔹 2023: Rocaille Morphosis
🔸 2022: Veneer Stool

Entries are open until 22 May 2026.
Find out more and submit your project via the link in bio.

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🔹 Her Captain’s Chair (2025)
Designer: Lily Hitchcock Design
University: King’s Foundation & Snowdon School of Furniture
Species: Ash (UK)
Photographer: Carmel King

🔸 Karl and Rita (2024)
Designer: Alex Radivan
Manufacturer: Alex Radivan & Andrew Lee
University: Nottingham Trent University
Species: Ash (UK)

🔹 Rocaille Morphosis (2023)
Designer: Joanne Grogan
University: City & Guilds of London Art School
Species: Limewood (English)
Photographer: Julian Calder and Joanne Grogan

🔸 Veneer Stool (2022)
Designer: Henry Johnson
University: Nottingham Trent University
Species: Sycamore

🪵 Sculpted ObjectIntroduced in 2024, Sculpted Object celebrates the expressive potential of timber in its most experimen...
06/05/2026

🪵 Sculpted Object

Introduced in 2024, Sculpted Object celebrates the expressive potential of timber in its most experimental and artistic forms.

From hand-carved vessels to sculptural installations, this category recognises work that pushes beyond function to explore form, texture and narrative — where the material itself becomes central to the story.

Across its first two years, winning projects have demonstrated how timber can be shaped, carved and transformed to reveal its unique character. Rooted in craft and material understanding, each piece responds directly to the qualities, imperfections and origins of the wood.

Selected winners so far:
🔹 2025: The Growth Project
🔸 2025: Red Knot
🔹 2024: Endless Orbit

Entries are open until 22 May 2026.
Find out more and submit your project via the link in bio.

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🔹 The Growth Project (2025)
Designer & Maker: Darren Appiagyei
Species: Horse chestnut, oak burr, ash, sycamore, beech (UK)
Photographer: Jenny Catlow

🔸 Red Knot (2025)
Designer & Maker: Laura Welsh
Species: Sycamore (Scotland)
Photographer: Laura Welsh

🔹 Endless Orbit (2024)
Designer & Maker: Oliver Spendley
Species: Elm, larch (Scotland)
Photographer: Oliver Spendley

🪑 Production Made Furniture & ProductThis category celebrates timber furniture and products designed for repeat producti...
04/05/2026

🪑 Production Made Furniture & Product

This category celebrates timber furniture and products designed for repeat production, where quality, consistency and craftsmanship are delivered at scale.

From small-batch collections to widely accessible designs, these projects demonstrate how timber can be used to create well-made, durable pieces that balance efficiency with material integrity. Whether rooted in education, community making or advanced manufacturing, each reflects a thoughtful approach to production and process.

Over the past five years, winning projects have explored how timber can support scalable design without losing its character, combining technical precision with warmth, tactility and longevity.

Selected winners from the past five years:
🔹 2025: Levity Collection
🔸 2024: Ebworth Stools
🔹 2023: The Exchange Tables and Chairs
🔸 2022: Furniture for 2 Bessborough Street
🔹 2021: Iso-Lounge Chair

Entries are open until 22 May 2026.
Find out more and submit your project via the link in bio.

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🔹 Levity Collection (2025)
Designer: Meon by Gaze Burvill with Katie Walker Furniture
Manufacturer: Gaze Burvill
Species: Ash (UK)
Photographer: Julie Skelton

🔸 Ebworth Stools (2024)
Designer: Sylva Foundation
Manufacturer: Sylva Foundation
Client: National Trust
Species: Ash (UK), Grown in Britain certified

🔹 The Exchange Tables and Chairs (2023)
Designer: Mentsen
Manufacturer: The Exchange Erith
Species: European Oak (France), FSC certified

🔸 Furniture for 2 Bessborough Street (2022)
Designer: Mentsen
Client: The Crown Estate
Species: European Oak, FSC

🔹 Iso-Lounge Chair (2021)
Designer: Jasper Morrison
Manufacturer: Isokon Plus
Species: Birch, Beech and Oak veneers

🪑 Bespoke Furniture & ProductThis category celebrates exceptional, one-of-a-kind pieces that push the boundaries of timb...
30/04/2026

🪑 Bespoke Furniture & Product

This category celebrates exceptional, one-of-a-kind pieces that push the boundaries of timber design, where craft, material and narrative come together in highly individual ways.

From experimental student work to masterful, heritage-driven making, these projects explore timber at its most expressive. Whether through innovative processes, cultural storytelling or deep material understanding, each piece demonstrates the unique potential of wood as both a structural and artistic medium.

Over the past five years, winning projects have ranged from lightweight, demountable structures to finely detailed objects and sculptural furniture, each reflecting a distinctive approach to form, function and making.

Selected winners from the past five years:
🔹 2025: A Forest Datum
🔸 2024: Communion
🔹 2023: Serenade
🔸 2022: Fenland Black Oak CIO
🔹 2021: Gayles Farm 5

Entries are open until 22 May 2026.
Find out more and submit your project via the link in bio.

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🔹 A Forest Datum (2025)
Designer: Design + Make 23–25 Students, Architectural Association
Manufacturer: Design + Make Post-Graduate Course
Species: Beech, Cedar (UK)

🔸 Communion (2024)
Designer: Giles Tettey Nartey
Manufacturer: Jan Hendzel Studio
Species: American Maple (USA)
Photographer: Jason Yates / CASWORKSLDN

🔹 Serenade (2023)
Designer: John Makepeace OBE
Fabrication: Snowe Steedstrup Dyhr and Clive Baines
Species: English Oak, Lebanon Cedar (UK)
Photographer: Andy Whale

🔸 Fenland Black Oak CIO (2022)
Designer: Mauro Dell’Orco
Fabrication: Benson Sedgwick Engineering Ltd
Species: Quercus Robur (England)

🔹 Gayles Farm 5 (2021)
Designer: Wycliffe Stutchbury
Manufacturer: Wycliffe Stutchbury
Species: European Oak

🌿 Small ProjectThis category celebrates projects that demonstrate how timber can shape thoughtful, expressive architectu...
16/04/2026

🌿 Small Project

This category celebrates projects that demonstrate how timber can shape thoughtful, expressive architecture at a more intimate scale — from garden structures and pavilions to carefully crafted domestic interventions.

Over the past five years, winning projects have shown how ingenuity, craftsmanship and material understanding can come together to create spaces that are both highly functional and deeply atmospheric.

Selected winners from the past five years:

🔹 2025 — The Armadillo
🔸 2024 — Rhodes House Garden Pavilion
🔹 2023 — The Boathouse
🔸 2022 — Douglas Fir House
🔹 2021 — Built: East Pavilion

Projects must be located in the UK to be eligible.

Entries are open until 22 May 2026.
Find out more and submit your project via the link in bio.

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🔹 The Armadillo (2025)
Architect: Unknown Works
Delivery & Installation Partner: ConstruktCLT
Structural Engineer: Studio Allen
Wood Supplier: Xilonor CLT
Contractor: Klimstar Building Company
Client: Houghton Festival
Acoustic Engineer: Charcoalblue
Metalwork: Rothoblaas
Photographer: Henry Woide

🔸 Rhodes House Garden Pavilion (2024)
Architect: Stanton Williams
Structural Engineer: Webb Yates Engineers
Wood Supplier: Braden Timber Structures
Contractor: Beard Construction
Client: Rhodes Trust
Joinery: Braden Timber Structures
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Skelly & Couch
Photographer: Hufton + Crow

🔹 The Boathouse (2023)
Architect: Ashworth Parkes Architects Ltd
Structural Engineer: Cambridge Architectural Research
Wood Supplier: National Trust, Pentillie Estate
Contractor: Enerphase Construction
Client: Joel Gustafsson
Joinery: Carpenter Oak
Photographer: Matthew Smith Architectural Photography

🔸 Douglas Fir House (2022)
Architect: Christian Brailey Architects
Wood Supplier: Emanuel Hendry
Contractor: Miles Builders
Client: Faye Johnson
Joinery: Emanuel Hendry

🔹 Built: East Pavilion (2021)
Architect: OGU Architects + Donald McCrory Architects
Structural Engineer: O’Connor Sutton Cronin
Wood Supplier: BPJ Group, International Timber
Contractor: Farrans Construction
Client: EastSide Partnership
Joinery: BPJ Group

Full project credits & details on our website.

Restoration & Reuse celebrates the ways that wood helps to preserve, enhance or transform existing buildings for use in ...
14/04/2026

Restoration & Reuse celebrates the ways that wood helps to preserve, enhance or transform existing buildings for use in the present day.

Since the category’s introduction in 2022, the winning projects illustrate the integral role of timber in the restoration and adaptive reuse of historic structures.

By working with what is already there, these projects recognise that the lowest carbon building is the one that already exists - striking a balance between preserving the past and embracing contemporary needs.

Selected winners from the past four years:
🔹 2025 — The Cowshed
🔸 2024 — Brighton Dome Corn Exchange & Studio Theatre
🔹 2023 — Westminster Hall Roof & Lantern
🔸 2022 — The Water Tower

📅 Entries are open until 22 May 2026

Find out more and submit your project via link in bio

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🔹 The Cowshed (2025)
Architect: Design Storey Architects
Engineer: Mann Williams
Wood Supplier: Town Country Flooring
Contractor: Matford Construction
Photographer: Lawrence Grigg

🔸 Brighton Dome Corn Exchange & Studio Theatre (2024)
Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Engineer: Arup
Wood Supplier: Neil Burke Joinery (NBJ) / Weitzer Parkett
Contractor: R. Durtnell & Sons / Westridge Construction Ltd
Landscape Services: LT Studio
Quantity surveyor & project manager: Jackson Coles
Building services & sustainability consultant: Max Fordham
Theatre Design & Acoustics: Charcoal Blue
Fire Engineer: The Fire Surgery
Photographer: Richard Chivers

🔹 Westminster Hall Roof & Lantern (2023)
Architect: Donald Insall Associates
Engineer: Alan Baxter Ltd
Wood Supplier: Dolmen Conservation Carpenters
Contractor: Mitie Projects
Client: UK Parliament
Joinery: Dolmen Conservation Carpenters | Roof Lantern: Sands & Randall Carpenters
Fabrication: DBR London Ltd
Lighting & Window Glazing: Reyntiens Glass Studio
Photographer: Thomas Erskine and Donald Insall Associates

🔸 The Water Tower (2022)
Architect: Tonkin Liu
Structural Engineer: Rodrigues Associates, Integration
Wood Supplier: Binderholz UK Ltd
Contractor: MNB Services
Steel Works: GLW Engineering & Construction Ltd

The 2026 Call for Entries opens this Wednesday.If you’re planning to submit, now is the moment to begin preparing your m...
02/03/2026

The 2026 Call for Entries opens this Wednesday.

If you’re planning to submit, now is the moment to begin preparing your materials — photography, drawings and project information.

We look forward to welcoming the next cohort of projects where wood plays a central and considered role.

Image Credit:
Paradise — Structural, Winner 2025
Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Photo: Andy Stagg | Agnese Sanvito

Directed by filmmaker Petr Krejčí () and produced by , the new documentary Forested Future is a feature-length immersion...
03/12/2025

Directed by filmmaker Petr Krejčí () and produced by , the new documentary Forested Future is a feature-length immersion into the Appalachian forest communities of the eastern US. Inspired by A Trillion Trees, a book by the English environmental journalist Fred Pearce, the film is a visually rich and wide-ranging exploration of how – in an age of climate crisis – our relationship with trees and forests might hold the key to a positive future.

To be the first to hear about future screenings and the online premiere, sign up to the Forested Future mailing list at the link in bio, and follow .

🪑 Her Captain’s ChairReimagining a traditional captain’s chair through a woman’s perspective, Her Captain’s Chair explor...
20/10/2025

🪑 Her Captain’s Chair

Reimagining a traditional captain’s chair through a woman’s perspective, Her Captain’s Chair explores how design can shape confidence, posture, and empowerment.

Crafted from solid ash with a steam-bent double bow, this elegant reinterpretation of the Windsor form prioritises comfort and presence. The contoured seat and mid-height backrest invite both focus and relaxation, designed with input from women in leadership to reflect strength and ease in equal measure.
Handmade using bespoke jigs, turned spindles and traditional joinery, the result is a refined and quietly powerful piece that challenges convention while celebrating craftsmanship.

📍 Location: West Oxfordshire
✨ Designer: Lily Hitchcock Design
📕 College/University: King’s Foundation & Snowdon School of Furniture ‘Create Programme’
🛠️ Manufacturer: Lily Hitchcock Design
🪵 Wood Supplier: Whitney Sawmills
🌳 Species: Ash (UK)
📷 Photographer: Carmel King

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