Getting into the shop window

Year on year, it seems, this event and the entries garner more plaudits and superlatives, and I haven't heard anyone yet contest the fact that this year topped the lot.

And it wasn't just the impressive total of 318 entries that did it, or the size and range of the audience at Carpenters' Hall presentations, this year hitting 220, comprising architects, designers, engineers, contractors, timber framers, timber suppliers, plus their actual clients who, by turning up, further illustrated the real value they put on having a timber building, interior or piece of furniture.

Other factors also took the Wood Awards up another impressive notch, as summed up by comments from judges RIBA Journal editor Hugh Pearman and architect Michael Morrison.

Mr Pearman underlined what was perhaps most striking about this year's event, and that was the sheer range of entries, not just in terms of designs of buildings and furniture, but the spectrum of different timber and wood products used and the variety of applications they were used in.

Architects and designers, he said, have appreciated wood's diversity and the fact that it's a sustainable crop for a while. But some had still tended to use it as a final flourish, a superficial, albeit attractive garnish, a bit of cladding here, a decorative detail there.

Today, however, many more are seeing it as the core of their project and basic building block. They are using it with more ambition, adventure, exuberance and confidence and no longer need to be convinced of its merits.

They get it, and, Mr Pearman maintained, they love it.

"So all I can say is welcome to the progressive mainstream," he said.

Mr Morrison, the outgoing chair of the judging panel, also said that this increasingly advanced and sophisticated use of timber had spread UK-wide.

"We toured the country and the shortlist this year includes entries from all four [home nations]," he said.

What was also more apparent at this year's Wood Awards, according to a straw poll of the audience, was a growing appreciation of its value among the timber trade as a shop window for its products.

In the past, the role played by the supply chain in these incredible projects has not had the profile it deserves. That's no doubt down to several factors in each case, but a common theme seems to have been that the timber supplier hasn't tracked their products, and the buyer hasn't passed on where they sourced them from to the specifiers or end users. That does, however, seem to be changing.

The close and invaluable bond the timber industry has with the Wood Awards through sponsorship of the event continues. But now there also seems to be a growing link through greater name-checking of timber suppliers in the entries. That is down to companies being increasingly proactive in keeping tabs on how their products are used, with a view to using it in their marketing and communications to other prospective clients. And those who have done it urge others to follow suit and further widen the industry's association with this show case for cutting-edge timber use.

As DHH director David Francis said: "It's a prestigious event that can only enhance our standing and reputation."