Each began with an entry form. A condemned boot factory in Bondi Junction. An embassy near the White House. The Sydney Opera House. A building named World Building of the Year in Amsterdam. Twenty-seven years in, the Australian Timber Design Awards has a habit of turning entries into icons — and entries for 2026 are now open.
“These awards are the industry’s way of championing its best work,” said organiser Kylan Low. “Behind every winning project is a supply chain story that begins in the forest and runs through sawmills, engineers, and builders.”
That story can begin anywhere — a family home, a community pavilion, a commercial fit-out, a landscape. The 2026 program is open to projects of any scale, provided they feature timber structures or finishes. It is a deliberate broadness, built on the understanding that great timber design is not reserved for landmark institutions.
“I think the reason the awards get so much love every year is that we are all drawn to wood — and we recognise the role that wood has to play in building beautiful and sustainable buildings,” Low said.
Last year’s Grand Prix showed what happens when ambition and patience combine. Archer Office’s adaptive reuse of a condemned 1892 boot factory in Bondi Junction — derelict since 2018, reborn as one of Sydney’s most celebrated community spaces — took the top prize after a project that Tomek Archer described as a test of the material itself. “It’s very easy to stop, but very hard to become an expert,” he said. “Timber demands an appreciation of tolerances and the subtle perfections that make a building succeed.”
Constructed by Schiavello Constructions with structural engineers Partridge, the Boot Factory kept its original Victorian brick perimeter while its interior was entirely reimagined — exposed Victorian Ash columns, an inverted floor system, and radial Australian hardwood rafters converging on a central skylight producing a building where structure and material are inseparable.
Archer credited early collaboration across clients, engineers and contractors as the project’s foundation. “This project has extended the useful life of the Boot Factory — we hope for another 100 years,” he said. The win proved a launching pad — the Boot Factory has since collected further national and international recognition.
That pattern runs deep in the awards’ 27-year history. Bates Smart’s Australian Embassy in Washington DC took the 2024 Grand Prix. ARM Architecture won in 2023 for the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Renewal. The Tzannes-designed International House at Barangaroo — the 2017 winner — was later named World Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam.
Sarah Downey, Head of Marketing and Communications for Forest and Wood Products Australia, said the awards reflect timber’s growing place in the built environment. “The Australian Timber Design Awards showcase how timber is reshaping the way we design, build and think about our communities. As the material of choice for a lower-carbon future, these awards highlight projects that bring together performance, beauty and sustainability in unique and innovative ways.”
Organised by the Timber Development Association in partnership with Forest and Wood Products Australia and WoodSolutions, the 2026 Australian Timber Design Awards are now open to architects, engineers, builders, designers and landscapers. Early bird pricing closes at 7 pm on May 29, 2026. The final entry deadline is June 30, 2026.
Click here to enter the 2026 Australian Timber Design Awards
