Timber renaissance continues

If you ask me, the Wood Awards come along at just the right time of year.

The nights are drawing in, the weather is damp and depressing and business activity is either slowing down or almost unmanageably busy in the rush to get everything done before the Christmas break. 2014 is coming to an end and many of us are tired after a frenetically busy year and ready for some downtime - although maybe that's just me.

Then the Wood Awards appear on the calendar and shine a bright ray of light on the timber industry, reminding us that we don't just deal in a commodity - worthy though that is - we also work with a beautiful, infinitely adaptable material in one of the most dynamic and innovative sectors known to man. And just in case the message hadn't quite sunk in, the event was swiftly followed by the results of the Wood Awards Ireland competition, which highlighted equal flair and ingenuity in timber construction on the other side of the Irish Sea.

Both events indicate that working with wood is undergoing what architect Alison Brooks, speaking at the London event, referred to as "a renaissance". She added that this was reflected in the judges' observations that what had once been regarded as innovative uses of timber were now mainstream.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a case in point: whereas a handful of years ago the use of CLT in Wood Awards-entered projects was few and far between, now it is "a given".

Of course, not all buildings, timber or otherwise, can be as iconic as the projects we see triumphing at the Wood Awards - that would be the preserve of planet Grand Designs - but the wider world of timber construction also seems to be on the brink of becoming more mainstream. Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of the Structural Timber Association (STA), reports on a positive relationship with the government's chief construction adviser and is encouraged by Whitehall's 2025 industry targets.

More to the point, he's confident that the timber sector is well positioned to respond to the challenges of Construction 2025, which include lowering costs by 33%, increasing the speed of delivery by 50% and reducing emissions by 50%. These targets are totally in keeping with the STA's own aspirations, he says. While no-one is counting their chickens before they've hatched, the wider timber industry is also in a more positive frame of mind following 12-18 months of exceptional activity and growth.

In some cases - the British timber sector, for example - the slight slowing down in the fourth quarter isn't a cause for worry but is a welcome breathing space before we all jump back on the merry-go-round in January.