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The sheer number of entrants for the 2015 Intergrain Timber Vision Awards certainly gives weight to the argument that there is a resurgence of timber use in Australian architecture.
The diversity of winning projects announced at the program's award ceremony held on 20 August also demonstrates that architects and designers are innovating with the ancient material and that timber is becoming one of the most commonly used materials for sustainable buildings in Australia.
Take for example the “Best of the Best” winner, ‘Library at The Dock’, by Clare Design and Hayball architects. The project is dressed head to toe in timber materials – from the promenade decking to the Tallowood and Ironbark cladding - but it is also one of Australia’s first buildings to be made from cross laminated timber (CLT).
Photography by Diana Snape.
Beyond the environmental benefits of CLT, Clare Design chose to use the material as it meant the building could be located as close as possible to the Melbourne Docklands waterfront– just eight metres from the edge, as CLT’s weight meant it minimised remediation works on the existing wharf structure.
The Mornington Centre State 2 in Victoria by Billard Leece Partnership is another example of creative use of timber. While some would say Billard Leece’s use of the material to bring warmth and depth to the interior space is hardly innovative, others would recognise that their use of timber on the building’s façade creates an exterior presence that could be considered unique to the healthcare architecture environment.
Photography by Shannon McGrath.
The building is almost entirely clad in white cypress timber with deeper battens that accentuate texture and provide differing patterns across the length of the façade, alluding more to a coastal shack than an institutionalised care centre for dementia patients.
The hotly contested residential exterior category award was won by Jackson Clements Burrows for their Moonlight Cabin project. And while timber has never, and will never, leave the schedules of residential architecture, JCB’s use of the material for their tiny four-bedroom cliff top project was called “refreshing” by the judges.
Photography by JCB.
JCB used the material to provide a building that was adaptable to the sites ephemeral conditions. The cabin is protected from the elements by a spotted gum rainscreen that envelopes the entire building, while operable walls (again spotted gum) and perforations to the cladding on the windows and doors means that occupants can also enjoy the better climatic conditions.
With 124 entries across five categories in 2015 the Intergrain Timber Vision Awards demonstrates the growing importance of timber in Australian architecture across the spectrum of building types and material applications. The Australian Timber Awards will also be announced mid-september so we can look forward to the projects that come from that program as well.
The 2015 the Intergrain Timber Vision Awards winners and commendations :
OVERALL WINNER
The Library at The Dock by Clare Design and Hayball. Photography by Diana Snape
COMMERCIAL INTERIOR AWARD
The Library at The Dock by Clare Design and Hayball. Photography by Diana Snape
COMMENDED
- Abbots & Kinney by studio-gram
COMMERCIAL EXTERIOR AWARD
The Mornington Centre State 2 by Billard Leece Partnership. Photography by Shannon McGrath
COMMENDED
- Australian Grains Genebank by H20 architects
PUBLIC SPACE AWARD
Jubilee Playground by Sue Barnsley Design. Photography by Brett Boardman
COMMENDED
- Articulated Timber Ground by The University of Melbourne
RESIDENTIAL EXTERIOR AWARD
Moonlight Cabin by Jackson Clements Burrows. Photography by JCB
COMMENDED
- Local House by MAKE Architecture
- Lagoon House by Taylor and Hinds Architects
RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR AWARD
Lagoon House by Taylor and Hinds Architects. Photography by Jonathon Wherrett
COMMENDEDATION
- Panorama Drive by Vokes and Peters
Update: This article has been updated to correct a false statement. The original article said that the Library at the Dock by Clare Design and Hayball was the first Australian building made from CLT however Forte by Lend Lease was actually the first Australian building to be constructed with CLT.
