This year’s Wood Awards pick out the most interesting projects in British architecture and product design which have used the material in a maverick way. From a centre for recovery, to an abbey for nuns and a peacefully winding walkway across a valley to an arboretum, this 45th edition of the awards sees a selection of the most sensitive projects to date.
Highly sculptural and conscious of the landscape, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios' Stanbrook Abbey won the Education & Public Sector Award for its organically sloping structure and detailed interiors. The building will provide a new home for a community of Benedictine nuns, who chose the remote location on the edge of the North York Moors.
Another project assimilating with its surroundings was the Stihl Treetop Walkway in Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire, designed by Glenn Howells Architects, which won the Commercial & Leisure Award. The walkway, which stretches to 300m, leads across a valley in a contemplative form which ebbs and flows through the treetops, elevated from the forest floor with scissoring timber legs made of Siberian larch.
Replacing a house in the heart of a protected landscape area in the Peak District, Sanei Hopkins Architects' Contour House was chosen as the Private Award winner. The design used American white oak and European oak to create a lighter structure in an area where stone is the most prevalent building material.
Foster + Partners' Maggie’s Centre, a Manchester retreat for those who have been affected by cancer, won the most prestigious accolade – the Arnold Laver Gold Award – as well as the Structural Award, for the building’s lightweight timber lattice structure which supports the roof in a diagonal formation, while also partitioning the interior and connecting the architecture to the outdoor space and gardens.
With a growing interest in reusing and reworking architecture, the Existing Building Award went to Ansty Plum in Wiltshire, for which architect Coppin Dockray revamped a mid-century house.
Transforming a Grade II* listed manor house in north Devon, the Portledge Rear Staircase was announced as the interiors winner, designed by Witcher Crawford Architects for the house's medieval service wing.
Other winners included 'Twist', a project first shown at the Timber Expo in 2015, designed by Emergent Technologies and Design using birch ply; 'Pantori', a freestanding pantry larder created for Japanese crepe eatery Nojō and designed by Steph Leake, an intern at Jack Badger; 'Planks Collection’ a multi-functioning table designed by Max Lamb; ‘Stretch Extending Dining Table’ by Pengelly Design; and the two Student Designer Awards went to Michael Stevenson and Jan Waterson.
The design for Stanbrook Abbey used a variation of wood types for the exterior and interior, including German oak, Scottish spruce, Douglas fir and British sycamore
The remote site for the abbey was selected by the Benedictine nuns; their contemplative lifestyle is reflected in the organically curved form of the architecture
The Stihl Treetop Walkway, designed by Glenn Howells Architects, won the Commercial & Leisure Award
The walkway leads to the Grade I listed Westonbirt National Arboretum, which houses one of the world’s finest tree collections
Ansty Plum by Coppin Dockray won the Existing Buildings category for its extension, using bespoke Douglas fir joinery
Ansty Plum is located on a steep hillside overlooking a collection of 12th century buildings
Maggie’s at the Robert Parfett Building, Manchester, by Foster + Partners, was awarded the Arnold Laver Gold Award and the Structural Award, voted for unanimously by the panel of judges
The Interiors Award was won by the Portledge Rear Staircase by Witcher Crawford Architects, who used German walnut and English oak to create a decorative yet contemporary stair for the medieval service wing of the house
Contour House by Sanei Hopkins Architects won the Private Award for its use of American white oak and European oak in combination with stainless steel
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Wood Awards website
-
ALT Paris is a chic and fast-growing jewellery brand to knowThe brand, which has just opened its second Paris boutique, has mastered the art of luxurious minimalism
-
Rediscover a classic midcentury hotel in SydneyFender Katsalidis leads a major renovation of the landmark Sofitel Sydney Wentworth hotel, pairing 1960s modernism with an elevated, Australian-minded reset
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expectFive moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson
-
Kengo Kuma’s ‘Paper Clouds’ in London is a ‘poem’ celebrating washi paper in construction‘Paper Clouds’, an installation by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is a poetic design that furthers research into the use of washi paper in construction
-
Foster + Partners to design the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth IIFor the Queen Elizabeth II memorial, Foster + Partners designs proposal includes a new bridge, gates, gardens and figurative sculptures in St James’ Park
-
Wolves Lane Centre brings greenery, growing and grass roots togetherWolves Lane Centre, a new, green community hub in north London by Material Cultures and Studio Gil, brings to the fore natural materials and a spirit of togetherness
-
This ingenious London office expansion was built in an on-site workshopNew Wave London and Thomas-McBrien Architects make a splash with this glulam extension built in the very studio it sought to transform. Here's how they did it
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on lifeThanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being reborn as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Lego and Serpentine celebrate World Play Day with a new pavilionLego and Serpentine have just unveiled their Play Pavilion; a colourful new structure in Kensington Gardens in London and a gesture that celebrates World Play Day (11 June)
-
Inside Abbey Road's refresh: touring the legendary studio's new interiorAbbey Road gets an interior refresh by Threefold Architects, bringing the legendary London recording studio in tune with the 21st century
-
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready to visit, ‘an exhibition you can use’The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready for its public opening on 6 June; we toured the structure and spoke to its architect, Marina Tabassum
