Take a bough: "flawlessly executed" Cambridge community centre and nursery wins top prize at Wood Awards 2018
Just two weeks after winning top prize at the Brick Awards, a community centre and nursery in Cambridge has also scooped the top prize in this year's Wood Awards.
TOP PRIZE
Storey's Field Community Centre and Nursery won the Mears Group Gold Award and the Commercial and Leisure category for its "winning combination of architectural merit, structural ingenuity and flawless execution”, according to the judging panel.
Designed by MUMU architects for Cambridge University, the 100-place nursery is arranged around three sides of a landscaped courtyard.
On the fourth side is a community centre with a 180-seat civic hall.
The main hall – inspired by the halls and chapels of Cambridge's famous colleges – uses an articulated timber structure.
American white ash, Canadian western red cedar, European oak and spruce can all be found throughout the winning building.
OTHER WINNERS
Winner of the Education and Public Sector category was the Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre in Oxford.
The Centre houses a large lecture theatre, a student learning space, seminar rooms and a dance studio.
“This is a building of tremendous quality and atmosphere, where every detail has been thought through,” said judge Ruth Slavid.
European oak and Siberian larch were utilised throughout.
Winner of the Interiors category was the Royal Academy of Music Theatre & New Recital Hall in London.
These two performance spaces, designed by Ian Ritchie Architects were praised for their wow factor and used North American cherry and European Oak.
The 309-seat cherry wood-lined Susie Sainsbury Theatre forms the heart of the Academy and was inspired by the curved shapes of string instruments.
Also shortlisted to win RIBA House of the Year 2018, Old Shed New House won the Private category.
This North Yorkshire home is clad in white timber, which helps the owners' art collection pop and echoes the bark of the surrounding silver birch trees.
Judge David Morley said that the project “seems perfectly suited to its owners: this building is simple and modest but also delicate and uplifting to visit”.
Architectural firm Tonkin Liu used Siberian larch, Latvian birch and Scandinavian spruce.
Look! Look! Look! won the Small Project crown. It used birch ply and Douglas fir.
Sat inside a walled garden originally designed by Georgian landscape designer Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, the judges praised the project’s sense of fun.
Scroll through the gallery above to see all the winners.
