Across the Wood Awards, one theme continues to emerge year after year: the thoughtful and expressive use of timber as both a structural and aesthetic material.
From finely crafted furniture to ambitious architectural installations, award-winning projects demonstrate not only the versatility of wood but also the importance of selecting the right species for the right application. Material choice shapes how a project performs, how it is made, and how it is experienced.
Material is never neutral – it defines both the character and performance of a project.
American hardwoods have featured across a number of standout projects in recent years, offering designers a palette of durable, workable and visually distinctive materials that can be adapted to a wide range of contexts.
Material as a design driver
Rather than being treated as a finish, timber is increasingly used as a starting point for design.
This approach is exemplified by MultiPly (Winner, Small Project 2019), a pioneering installation that explored the structural potential of American tulipwood CLT. The project demonstrated how a relatively lightweight hardwood could be used to create large-scale, load-bearing structures, combining strength with precision and repeatability. Its modular system allowed the pavilion to be reconfigured and reused across multiple sites, pushing the boundaries of engineered timber construction.
Similarly, Vert (Shortlisted, Small Project 2025) highlights the continued evolution of hardwood in structural applications. Designed using American red oak glulam, the project reimagines a species traditionally associated with furniture as a high-performance structural material. The result is a lightweight yet robust system that supports biodiversity in urban environments, while demonstrating the strength and versatility of red oak in engineered form.
The choice of species is as much about performance as it is about possibility.
Craft, culture and material expression
At a more intimate scale, timber’s tactile and expressive qualities come to the fore.
Communion (Winner, Bespoke Furniture 2024) by Giles Tettey Nartey is a powerful example of how material, craft and cultural storytelling can come together in a single piece. Crafted from black-stained American maple, the table reimagines the preparation of fufu as a shared, performative act. CNC machining is used to create intricate surface textures, while traditional techniques, including lamination and lathe turning, bring depth and form into the Sculptural Woduro bowls.
Dense, durable and finely grained, American maple plays a central role in the project’s success, allowing for both precision and resilience. As Furniture & Objects lead judge Sebastian Cox described it, the piece is “a powerful storytelling object”, brought to life through use and interaction.
In contrast, Migo (Highly Commended, Production Made Furniture 2022) by Pascal Hien demonstrates a more pared-back approach, where material efficiency and clarity of design take centre stage. Made from a single plank of American red oak, each piece is constructed using dovetail joints, creating a robust and adaptable object with minimal waste. The consistency of the grain and the inherent strength of the timber allow the design to remain both simple and highly functional, while achieving a negative carbon footprint.
Through both complexity and restraint, timber enables designers to express ideas that are structural, cultural and deeply human.
Performance, sustainability and longevity
Beyond aesthetics, timber species selection plays a critical role in performance.
Durability, stability and environmental credentials all inform decision-making, particularly as designers respond to increasing demands around sustainability and lifecycle impact. The projects highlighted here demonstrate how different hardwood species can be used strategically to meet these challenges, whether through structural innovation, efficient material use or longevity in design.
American hardwoods offer a combination of strength, availability and responsible sourcing, allowing them to move seamlessly between structural and decorative roles. Their adaptability supports both experimentation and reliability, enabling designers to push boundaries while maintaining performance.
A continuing exploration
What these projects collectively demonstrate is a growing confidence in timber as a primary material.
As designers continue to test its limits, the relationship between species, structure and form becomes ever more important. Whether through large-scale engineered systems or finely detailed crafted objects, timber offers a unique opportunity to create work that is both high-performance and deeply expressive.
The Wood Awards will continue to celebrate these approaches, recognising projects that place material understanding at the heart of design.
Enter now for your chance to have your project recognised alongside these award-winning examples.
This article was developed in collaboration with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), a long-standing supporter of the Wood Awards.
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