NEWS
Contour House was chosen as the Private winner. The judges said,“ The workmanship displayed is quite exceptional. The project is extremely ambitious and has been realised very successfully. It has been delivered with conviction.”
Meanwhile, the TWIST was selected as the Small Project winner as judges said it showed“ an interesting new direction for timber, demonstrating the possibilities of using wood in a very beautiful and efficient way”.
The TWIST was developed by the Emergent Technologies and Design Programme at the Architectural Association School of Architecture – in conjunction with TRADA – for Timber Expo 2015. The project sought to exploit the anisotropic properties to gain full control of the bending and twisting behaviour of plywood.
After discontinuing the Existing Buildings category in 2015, the judges felt that the repair and adaptive reuse projects were so strong this year that they decided to reinstate it as an award. This award was given to Ansty Plum for the sensitivity shown to the existing architecture.
Pantori was chosen as the Bespoke winner in the Furniture and Product competition. The judges praised how this project makes bespoke furniture accessible.“ It is so rare to see this kind of work in a public space,” they said.
In the Production Made category, so impressed were the judges by the standard of entries that they selected two winners! One was the Planks Collection, which they said,“ expresses the integrity of the material, using it in the most effective way and bringing rationality to its design.” The other winner is the Stretch Extending Dining Table. The judges were impressed by the way the design pushes the material and by this elegant solution to a common problem.
In the Student Design category, prizes of £ 1 000( about R17 400) and £ 500( about R8 700) were up for grabs for the overall winner and people’ s choice respectively. Geometry was chosen as the winner, of which the judges said,“ This table has its own definite aesthetic. It is solid and it works, using a system that does not involve any screws. It is a robust piece of furniture.”
The other Student Design award, People’ s Choice, was won by the Velo Chair. This award was decided by the public, who were given the opportunity to vote for their favourite student design on twitter throughout the summer and the London Design Festival.
This year, the Wood Awards’ building judges shortlisted 20 projects across the country. Chaired by Michael Morrison, the panel consisted of Andrew Lawrence, John Wilkie, Jim Greaves, Hugh Pearman, Nathan Wheatley, Ruth Slavid and past Arnold Laver Gold Award winners Adam Richards and David Morley.
The furniture and product judges shortlisted 12 pieces. The specialist panel was led by Max Fraser and included Katie Walker, Corinne Julius, John Makepeace, Rod Wales and Ruth Aram.
As a not-for-profit competition, the Wood Awards can only happen with collaborative industry sponsorship. Arnold Laver sponsor the Arnold Laver Gold Award. Major Sponsors are American Hardwood Export Council, Carpenters’ Company, Wood for Good and TRADA. Other sponsors include American Softwoods, British Woodworking Federation, Forestry Commission, Furniture Makers’ Company, Party Ingredients, Timber Trade Federation and 100 % Design.
TRADA recently unveiled a new category of membership for designers / makers of bespoke work with five or less staff. Read more about how TRADA membership can benefit your business, download an application form or contact membership @ trada. co. uk.
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// FEB / MARCH 2017 13