The winners of the 23rd Australian Timber Design Awards were announced at an event in Sydney on Thursday night, hosted by The Ultimate Renewable™ Brand Ambassador - Adam Dovile. With fourteen categories and many more finalists it was an evening of inspirational timber projects, viewed by an audience comprising people from the design and construction sectors and the timber industry.
The Awards are a national competition aiming to recognise outstanding projects in timber and support a growing timber culture by encouraging and promoting exceptional timber design.
“Every year the range and standard of projects entered for the Awards sets a new benchmark,” said Eileen Newbury, Head of WoodSolutions Program, the principal sponsor of the Awards.
“The Awards don’t simply reward the use of timber but look for good design and innovation in the application of timber and wood products – something that the resources of the WoodSolutions program have been created to support.”
“On behalf of WoodSolutions and the Australian forest and wood products industry, I would like to thank all the entrants, judges, sponsors and everyone involved with making the Awards a major event in the Australian design calendar.”
The overall winner, the Waterfront Tavern by H&E Architects, is the centrepiece in an artificial harbour within the expansive and master-planned Shell Cover development south of Wollongong. With a range of welcoming spaces, the Waterfront Tavern acts as both a refuge for residents and a destination for visitors. Lavish and broad in their use of timber, the project team demonstrated exceptional craftsmanship and fine detailing through its undulating forms, exposed interior and exterior surfaces and features.
The ever-popular People’s Choice Award was won by Bay Pavilions Arts and Aquatic Leisure Centre by NBRS & Donovan Payne Architects. With two distinct pavilions co-locating performance and aquatic functions, the project is an ecologically sustainable development in Bateman’s Bay.
The winner of two categories, Sustainability and Small Budget, S.E.ED. - Modular Classrooms by Betti & Knut Architecture, demonstrated the wide range of project types in the Awards. From small residential through to commercial buildings to community resources, the applications for timber and wood products continues to expand as developers and designers seek the benefits of a low-carbon, sustainable and renewable cost-effective building material.
More information about the 23rd Australian Timber Design Awards can be found here.