A contemporary barn conversion in Northamptonshire featuring American white oak, birch and iroko has won the Gold Award at The Wood Awards 2005.
Pinion’s Barn, designed by Simon Conder Associates, also won the private category at the awards, held in Carpenters’ Hall, London last night.
The win is the second awards success for Simon Conder Architects, which was highly commended in last year’s competition for its black rubber beach house in Dungeness.
The judges, who were unanimous in their decision to give the Gold Award to Pinion’s Barn, said; “Overall this is a very high quality, very fashionable design conversion extremely well carried through… The way the details have been carried through has been extremely effective.”
New awards category Best Use of British Timber was won by the winner of the best structural prize – a post-fire restoration of Pilton Barn in Somerset by McCurdy & Co, using English oak.
Foster & Partners’ Sage Gateshead music centre won the commercial and public access category, while the restoration of Christ Church, Spitalfields was the victor in the conservation/restoration section.
The small project award was scooped by Sybil and David Caines’ New Summerhouse, designed by Ullmayer & Sylvester Architects and featuring softwood, WBP birch ply and marine ply.
Awards organiser Michael Buckley said: “2005 was another year of record entries and spectacular quality of work for The Wood Awards.
“Whether the building is a cultural centre of national importance by a leading architectural practice or simply a converted country home, it is the sheer quality of workmanship that has shone through in all the four main winning projects.”
