Feature: Wood Awards 2024 | 53
Timber (Manufacturers) Ltd, who were responsible for construction of the structural frame. The architect was Witherford Watson Mann and the structural engineer was Smith and Wallwork.
There was a distinct Celtic flavour to the Research & Innovation award winner, which was Uist House. Perfectly designed for its dramatic Outer Hebridean climate, this sculptural modular home overlooking a tidal lagoon fed by the North Atlantic Ocean, has been built from home-grown Welsh timber – specifically Welsh Douglas fir. Other species used included Sitka spruce (UK), larch (UK), and oak. Constructed primarily in a factory in Wales, the house was shipped in seven prefabricated modules, travelling 570 miles across land and sea, to its final destination on the island of North Uist, where it was assembled. Passive house levels of airtightness and insulation are combined with an equally uncompromising approach to embodied carbon. Bespoke timber box beams filled with cellulose insulation form a strong primary structure that can withstand the location’s extreme wind loads at a low carbon cost. The contractor was Unnos Systems, which also supplied the timber. The IRO cladding and decking was from BSW Timber and the architect was Koto Design and Hiraeth Architecture.
Rhodes House Garden Pavilion scooped the Small Project award.
Set within the gardens of the Grade II- listed Rhodes House, in Oxford, this new multi-purpose building forms part of a recently completed scheme that has modernised, refurbished and extended the 100-year-old headquarters of Rhodes Trust educational charity.
Harnessing traditional woodworking techniques and modern engineering, the timber lattice that forms the structure of the
pavilion cantilevers over the root protection area of nearby trees. A green roof sits on top of the sweeping timber structure, which itself rests on frameless load-bearing glass walls. Using parametric modelling and detailed analysis, the roof geometry has been tailored to optimise aesthetics, structural efficiency, acoustic performance and curvature limitations – resulting in a breathtaking feat of timber design.
The timber used was spruce LVL from Scandinavia, and European ash and was supplied by Braden Timber Structures, which was also responsible for the joinery (along with Paragon Joinery for the internal joinery). HIAVEN – a contemporary farmhouse at the centre of a regeneration project that breathes new life into a previously derelict Cotswold farm – was the winner of the Private category. Sitting amidst 100 acres of farmland, which has been newly planted with trees and wildflowers, this low-energy building has been designed to be visually seamless and integrated within its surrounding landscape. Using a minimal material palette of timber and acid-etched concrete, the new farmhouse provides living accommodation and exhibition space, including a vast 12×36m column-free area.
Characterised by an entirely exposed structure, the project is a showcase of hybrid engineering as architectural design. The key unifying element of the structure is the innovative timber-concrete composite roof. Here, LVL roof beams have been combined with precast concrete planks to create an efficient and elegant roof solution with inherent thermal mass, designed to be easily demounted and reused. Pollmeier supplied the beech LVL, the architect was BPN Architects and the timber draughting was the responsibility of Redgate Engineering Ltd.
Bough Terrace in London secured victory in the Interiors category.
Celebrating timber in colour, texture, age, form, function and structure, this project transforms a Victorian townhouse and reveals intriguing insights into the building’s history. With a commitment to retain as much of the existing timber lattice interior structure as possible, the house has been stripped back to its bare bones, revealing the tactile character and imperfections of its timber floor joists and roof trusses.
Throughout, the existing gnarled and textural timber structure has been married with new solid timber, which by contrast is sharp and precise. A singular trunk-like post on the lower-ground floor stems upwards and outwards, with new and old wood extending through the layers of the house like branches, culminating in a plywood canopy on the top ceiling.
Built by bespoke shipbuilders, a curved staircase has been made from hand-folded plywood and stained midnight blue. Cleverly hiding its fixtures, the stair seems to levitate, creating a dramatic and ethereal transition to the upper floor, where dark roof trusses contrast strikingly with the ply ceiling. The wood supplier was Elliotts and the species used were redwood pine (Sweden and Finland), Douglas fir and reclaimed timber. The joinery elements were carried out by Cube and the architect was Tuckey Design Studio.
FURNITURE & PRODUCT AWARDS Among the furniture and product design pieces that won their categories were: Communion, which won the Bespoke category; Ebworth Stools, which won the Production category; Karl and Rita, winners of the Student Designer category; and Endless Orbit, which triumphed in the Sculptured Object category (see p5). ■
Below: Bough Terrace secured victory in the Interiors category PHOTO: TUCKEY DESIGN STUDIO/FRAN MART
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