EDITORS: For a link to download high resolution images of the Wood Awards 2012 shortlist, contact [email protected].
Click here for a table summary of the Wood Awards 2012 Shortlist.
For its 10th year, the Wood Awards received an unprecedented 362 category entries from which an exceptional shortlist has been selected by the judges.
The Wood Awards is a flagship for wood in the best of British architecture, furniture and design, and the 30-strong shortlist for 2012 shows that excellence in design and craftsmanship using wood, is thriving. This year’s shortlist features unique private houses and stunning small projects, outstanding restorations, splendid public buildings and unique furniture ranging from the traditional to the cutting edge, all of which are strong candidates for Awards’ main categories, which have been updated for the 2012 competition.
‘Small Project’ has been introduced as a main category; the ‘Conservation / Restoration’ category was repositioned as ‘Repair & Adaptive Reuse’, and the ‘Furniture’ category has been broadened into two: ‘Bespoke Furniture’ and ‘Production Made Furniture’. In separating ‘Small Projects’ from the ‘Private’ category this year, the Wood Awards has the opportunity to give much smaller projects, this year including a bird hide in Perthshire to the new gates of Anne Boleyn’s Gateway at Hampton Court Palace and the innovative 12 metre high Timber Wave in American red oak for the London Design Festival, the specific recognition they deserve. The category ‘Repair & Adaptive Reuse’ is open to both the careful conservation and ingenious restoration seen every year and the repurpose of existing buildings.
Michael Morrison of Purcell UK and Chairman of the Judges said, “The entries this year have been excellent, with a wide variety and some very interesting projects. As always, the shortlisting was an exciting process this year, made more difficult by the impressive number of entries. The Wood Awards shortlist really is a short list, and there was a lot of heated argument on the way to agreeing our chosen 30 projects. We knew 2012 would be an interesting year and it has not disappointed.”
Canada Wood, the joint initiative between the Canadian government and timber industry association partners representing producers in Canada, and the timber industry’s sustainability and promotion campaign Wood for Good, have both this year become lead sponsors of the Wood Awards, alongside long-standing supporters the American Hardwood Export Council and the Carpenters’ Company. Other sponsors include TRADA and American Softwoods, with support from BRE.
The Wood Awards 2012 Shortlist will be showcased at Timber Expo, Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 25th and 26th September, and selected projects will be presented by the architects and designs to form part of Timber Expo’s new expanded programme of seminars.
The judges are visiting the shortlist over the coming months, and the winners – including the coveted Gold Award winner – will be announced on 27th November at Carpenters’ Hall in London.
The Wood Awards 2012 Shortlist is attached. For more information on the 2012 Shortlist and the Wood Awards, visit www.woodawards.com.