Wood Awards 2017 Call for Entries Launched
Maggie’s at the Robert Parfett Building by Foster+Partners – Arnold Laver Gold Award & Structural Award 2017
The Wood Awards: Excellence in British Architecture and Product Design has now launched its 2017 call for entries. Those involved in a UK-based wood project are invited to enter and have until 26 May to submit their applications.
The Wood Awards shortlist will be announced in July and the winners will be announced at the Wood Awards ceremony on 21st November 2017 at Carpenters’ Hall in London. The shortlisted projects will be on display at the ceremony and during the London Design Festival in September.
Liveryman Michael Morrison of Purcell and Max Fraser of Spotlight Press return as chairmen of the Buildings and Furniture & Product judging panels. New to the Buildings judging panel is Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects. He says: “It’s a fascinating and exciting time to be judging these awards. We are seeing the emergence of a new environmentally aware architecture – an architecture that is centred on the beauty of wooden construction – an age of timber architecture.”
With permission from the owner, anyone associated with a building or product completed in the last two years, can enter. Buildings must be located within the UK whilst furniture and other products must have been either designed or manufactured in the UK. The competition is free to enter and entrants may submit more than one project. There are no restrictions on the size or budget of a project.
The 2017 categories will be confirmed at the shortlisting. Building categories are likely to be Commercial & Leisure, Education & Public Sector, Interiors, Private and Small Project. The Furniture & Product competition will be split into Bespoke, Production Made and Student Designer which is open to anyone currently in education or who has left education in the past 12 months. Within the Student category there are two cash prizes (£1,000 for the Winner and £500 for the People’s Choice). Other awards, such as Structural and Existing Building awards, can be given at the judges’ discretion. The Arnold Laver Gold Award is winner of winners, chosen from the winners of all the categories.
“Winning a Wood Award gives prospective customers confidence in our abilities and has helped us grow as a company. Our work was discovered by Wallpaper* magazine through winning in 2014. Directly from that, we went on to do an installation in Milan for Wallpaper* Handmade, which was a huge success. Our latest winning project, Pantori, was designed and part made by our intern Stephanie Leake. The award has given Stephanie a big boost at the beginning of her career. Unlike many other competitions, the Wood Awards is free to enter so there’s nothing to lose and potentially lots to gain”
Ben Naylor, Jack Badger Ltd (Judges Special Award 2014 & Bespoke Winner 2016)
“The Wood Awards enabled me to meet interesting and important people within the industry at an early stage and was a confidence-boosting accolade on which to launch a whole collection of furniture. More importantly, the Awards reinforce the importance of working with timber and celebrate the creativity and innovation designers and architects, at all stages of their career, are applying to this material.”
Freeman Sebastian Cox (Special Award: Outstanding Design 2011)
SPONSORS
Arnold Laver sponsors the Arnold Laver Gold Award which is the project that the judges deem to be the best of all the winners.
Major Sponsors of the Wood Awards 2017 are American Hardwood Export Council, Carpenters’ Company and TRADA.
Other sponsors include American Softwoods, Forestry Commission, Timber Trade Federation, Wood for Good and Furniture Makers’ Company.
Further information about how to apply and the online application form can be found on the Wood Awards website.
