Sanna Jokimäki has been given the Young Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award for her work on wooden prefabricated building elements.
The award, presented for the first time, is granted for an architectural Master’s thesis in which timber holds a central role.
“For me, wood is a warm, pliable, traditional and genuine material,” said Ms Jokimäki.
“The open scenery of my home region, its hay barns and country houses, tells about the local building traditions in which timber has had a crucial role.”
Ms Jokimäki’s thesis involved designing a wooden frame building element, demonstrated by its use in a school extension.
The award is distributed by the Wood in Culture Association and funded by the Finnish Forest Foundation.
Ms Jokimäki, who gained her degree from the Tampere University of Technology this year, was praised by the judges for discussing thoroughly the reconfiguring, re-siting and dismantling of buildings using the system.
