05 March 2015

AHEC (American Hardwood Export Council) sponsors the Wood Excellence Prize at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore.

At the recent World Architecture Festival (WAF) the Alex Munroe Studio by DSDHA in London, UK was awarded the inaugural Wood Excellence Prize chosen from a shortlist of projects from around the globe with the only criteria being wood as an integral part..
The shortlist included ‘The Tent’ a delightful leisure facility in Nha Trang, Vietnam by a21studio and the new Regional Terminal at Christchurch Airport by DVN Donovan Hill in New Zealand. Others were drawn from China, Netherlands, France and Australia. After presentations by all the architects, the jury of four eminent judges awarded the prize to the London studio “for embracing innovation and for what it had achieved in a tiny, tight and challenging location with the use of CLT.”
Chairing the jury, Matteo Thun, Milan based architect commented, "Wood, as a renewable resource material, is indispensable in architecture and design. Our daily challenge is to achieve projects and products that are sustainable, of timeless beauty, pure and simple, but at the same time technically and environmentally innovative. The new Wood Excellence Prize has reinforced this intention and I am very pleased to be involved in this very prestigious event."
David Venables, AHEC’s European Director and member of the jury, said “There was an excellent spread of shortlisted projects all showing good variety of wood application. There was some really engaging and deep thought process about wood as a material. We had a hard debate as to which should win.”
In the winning project the structure was entirely made of pre-fabricated structural panels and was calculated to have removed 27.1 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. Internally, according to the designers DSDHA, the simple timber finish is left exposed, providing a robust setting for the bespoke built-in furniture all made of the same timber. Over time, the interior will reveal a patina of use, recording day to day life. The design team and contractor successfully met the challenges of a tight building programme, some very demanding planning constraints and complex construction details.
AHEC also demonstrated at WAF its commitment to promoting wood for the built environment with an exhibition of its latest science-based research on Life-Cycle Environmental Assessment. This now enables U.S. hardwood exporters to provide American Hardwood Environmental Profiles (AHEPs) for individual shipments of 21 different species from forest to end-use product manufacturer. This LCA has resulted in quantitative assessment of cradle-to-grave impact across six environmental impact categories to indicate carbon footprint.
The exhibit also included The Wish list - AHEC’s most recent collaboration with Benchmark Furniture and Sir Terrence Conran, teaming up ten leaders in design and architecture, including Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and John Pawson, with emerging designers to create the object they have always wished for but could not find. A kitchen stool designed by Alison Brooks and Felix de Pass was brought to Singapore for display at the event..
The Prize was awarded by Mike Snow, AHEC Executive Director from Washington DC, at the Gala Dinner ending the event, which will return to Singapore in 2015. WAF is the largest annual festival and live awards programme for the global architecture community.

For further press information on the World Architecture Festival contact:
Philip Sorensen at FTI Consulting / London Tel +44 (0) 20 7269 7218
, E-mail: philip.sorensen@fticonsulting.com

For more information contact Mrs Tamsin Marshall or visit the web site:

AHEC: American Hardwood Export Council
23 Austin Friars
LONDON EC2N 2QP / United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 76264111
Fax +44 20 76264222
E-mail: tamsin@americanhardwood.org