More Aussie architects, engineers, and designers are embracing timber in projects—great and small—according to Andrew Dunn, the long-time organiser of the Australian Timber Design Awards. Dunn said schemes like Barrie Harrop’s 31-storey hotel in Adelaide and the rejuvenation of the Public Trustee Building in Brisbane – both announced over the past 48 hours – prove that Australia punches well above its weight when it comes to timber architecture and design.
“You’ve only got to look at the award winners from last year, including the Bates Smart-designed Australian embassy in Washington DC – recipient of the Australian Timber Design Grand Prize, as well as the Berninneit Cultural and Community Centre – which Anthony Burke, the host of Restoration Australia and Grand Designs Australia, said was Australia’s most sustainable timber building.”
Now in its 26th year, Dunn said that the deadline for nominations for this year’s award categories is fast approaching – June 12, 2025—with the judging panel expecting the calibre of entries to surpass previous years: “The Awards promote and encourage outstanding timber design,” Dunn said. “It is open to anyone involved in designing or building structures that feature timber – ranging from large-scale projects involving mass timber to recycled and framed timber projects in the residential industry.”
What goes into a successful application? We spoke to a past judge!
According to David Rawlinson, a three-time judge of the awards, the key is to state the ways that timber use positively contributes to a project’s sustainability. “For example, as a key element in Passivhaus design, how timber provides increased thermal resistance and hence reduces heating and cooling load, or the fact that timber reduces the mass of the building and hence the size of the substructure required.”
“Perhaps it’s the way that mass timber can help dematerialise an open plan office with exposed timber soffits, columns and beams with no finishes required, or the way that the use of Design for Manufacture and Assembly can help the building to be disassembled at the end of its life, hence providing a focus for circular design thinking.”
“There are many more that could be included, so to stand out from the crowd, it’s essential to focus on these additional advantages that the use of timber provides,” he said. “From a broader architectural perspective, it’s also important to highlight how the exemplary use of timber has contributed to the building’s essential essence.”
