Do architects hold the key to greater use of wood in building? Can they be influenced? Are their attitudes towards wood changing? After more than 10 years of marketing and promoting hardwood to architects the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) believes the answers are yes, yes and yes. We also believe that the timing has never been better to take advantage of wood’s improving image and that promotional efforts to increase the use of wood in the building sector are already paying dividends. Architects all over Europe are increasingly turning to wood solutions for their building projects and their confidence is growing.

At a recent AHEC seminar in Paris, 270 French architects turned out for an evening of “hardwood and architecture”, with speakers from two of Europe’s leading architectural practices. There was so much positive energy – the highest turnout we’ve had for a seminar so far, and in a country where there is a relatively small use of hardwood in interiors. On one hand this event was certainly a success; the evaluation questionnaires confirmed that more than 75% of the audience were positively influenced to specify hardwood in their projects in the future. On the other hand we miscalculated the response from architects. A combination of publicity in the architectural press and a targeted mailshot of invitations resulted in a staggering 700 registrations.

The audience responded because the venue was right, the speakers were a draw but, most importantly, the timing was right because architects want more information about wood.

In the UK, architects’ attitudes have also changed dramatically in the past few years. It used to be a real struggle to entice architects to attend wood-related events and, when they did, the majority were small players or students. But now they do come and you only have to look at the response to wood. for good and TRADA seminars and the delegate list of the IWSc conference to see this change. As AHEC discovered at our last seminar in London, of the 140 architects attending, many were from major UK practices. The real objective of these activities is to influence architects to use more wood, thus creating new business. No matter how good the marketing strategy is, if we cannot effect actual behavioural change in our target audience, we will have failed.

So is all this new energy from the wood sector in the UK and increased publicity for wood in the architectural media encouraging more architects to design with wood? The entries and winners of the 2004 Wood Awards indicate that the answer is “yes”.

Measuring success

&#8220We must capitalise on the improving image of wood within the building sector and keep architects and specifiers firmly in our sights”

Measuring the success of marketing programmes is often a difficult task and especially so in the case of architects. At AHEC we collate and monitor all contact with architects whether through trade shows, seminars, websites or media publicity. Annual evaluations of sample groups of architects has established that, on average, around 12% are influenced by the AHEC programme to either specify more American hardwood or use these species for the first time.

We also seek out success stories where promotional activity has led to new business. Take the American cherry used in the New Bar library in Belfast by leading Northern Ireland architects Robinson McIlvaine which was chosen because of information found in the RIBA Journal materials guide Hardwoods. This guide, produced three years ago, was the result of a collaboration of hardwood interests, including those of AHEC, the TTF, Ghana and Malaysia, and was co-ordinated by Turnstone Communications.

Sage centre

The most recent success story concerns the new Sage performing arts centre in Gateshead designed by Foster & Partners and opened by the Queen last month. The Sage boasts the best acoustics and has used considerable quantities of certified American ash in its interior. It is no coincidence that one of the project architects attended the IWSc conference in 2003 in Newcastle to hear a case study on Renzo Piano’s Rome Auditorium – another famous music venue designed in hardwood.

Architects are inspired and influenced by other architects and those who are most well known have the most influence. Therefore the publicity generated by the Sage is a valuable part of the process.

It may have taken the wood industry a while to wake up to the need to embrace generic marketing of wood. It is now time to be proactive rather than reactive in our marketing efforts. We must capitalise on the improving image of wood within the building sector and keep architects and specifiers firmly in our sights.