Roofscape Design Awards return to showcase best trussed rafter designs

Following a successful launch in 2023, the awards are back for its second year. The awards will recognise projects that showcase the highest design, innovation, and sustainability standards in using timber-trussed rafter roofs.

The Roofscape Design Awards will recognise excellence in three categories: Commercial Project of the Year (for all non-domestic projects), Conversion and Refurbishment Project of the Year (for existing housing projects), and Residential Project of the Year (for newbuild dwellings).

Last year’s winners included Harry Peate (Truss Form (Midlands) Ltd), who designed the roof for a Grade II listed structure built over 180 years ago; Gemma Weston (DWB Anglia) who created an open habitable roof space without vertical posts or large steel structures; and Sue Darbyshire’s (Donaldson Timber Engineering) complex design which  facilitated the installation of a mechanical and electrical component while allowing the external roof envelope to be covered..

“Trussed rafters are a widely used modern method of roof construction made from the use of nature’s most sustainable building material, timber,” said Nick Boulton, chief executive of the TRA.

“Although it is estimated that there are about 60 million trussed rafters in service in the UK today, the design skills involved in their construction often remain under-appreciated within the construction industry.

“The Roofscape Design Awards will shine a spotlight on the roof truss designers’ problem-solving skills while showing the timber engineering design as an attractive career for the next generation.”

“The 2023 entries were spectacular and inspiring, and we will be celebrating the beautifully completed projects of 2023.”

The TRA Roofscape Design Awards are now open for entries from all TRA member companies in the UK and Ireland. A panel of experts in timber engineering, architecture and sustainable design will judge the entries. Winners will be announced at the TRA AGM in April.

The deadline for entry is March 15, and entries must be submitted online via the TRA’s website. The awards are free to enter for all TRA member companies; each company can submit one entry to each of the categories.

For more details about the Trussed Rafter Association and the Roofscape Design Awards, visit www.tra.org.uk