A community centre near Reading has won a rural design award for timber building at the Civic Trust Awards.
The Oakwood Centre, designed by London-based Hawkins\Brown Architects, won the prize at the bi-ennial architectural awards in Brighton.
The centre at Woodley is clad externally with larch and houses a theatre, function rooms, meeting rooms, a community hall, a café, police office and the town council.
TRADA carried out extensive investigations to refine the specification for the timber cladding. Larch was chosen for its environmental benefits and attractive green grain, with boards supplied feather-edged to provide uneven surfaces to help deter graffiti.
A Welsh timber frame sheltered housing development at Burry Port was given a special mention at the awards.
Gwalia Housing Trust’s Plas Y Mor project, designed by London-based PCKO Architects, used red louro timber cladding as a durable, low maintenance finish.
The main building features solar panels to generate around 60% of its hot water, while wood chips from sustainable Welsh forests are used in the heating and hot water system’s biomass boilers.
