Photo one: Pyrrha (Vancouver, BC) | Birmingham & Wood Architects Planners LLP
Photo two: Arbour House (Victoria, BC) | Patkau Architects
Photo three: təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre (New Westminster, BC) | hcma architecture + design
Photo four: Nuxalk Mask, song and dance (Bella Coola, BC) | Mackin Architects Ltd.
Photo five: Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre (Burnaby, BC) | hcma architecture + design
Images courtesy of the Wood Design & Building Awards
The Canadian Wood Council is accepting submissions for the 2025 Wood Design & Building Awards. Now in its 41st year, this annual program invites architects, designers, and project teams from across North America and around the world to submit their most inspiring wood projects for consideration.
“At its core, this program is a celebration of architectural excellence,” says Martin Richard, VP Market Development & Communications at the Canadian Wood Council. “Each year, we’re inspired by the many ways designers harness wood’s versatile beauty—from bold, expressive forms to quietly transformative spaces.”
Over the decades, we’ve seen the creativity and talent of hundreds of project teams bring important changes to the built environment—elevating wood from a niche material to a sustainable, mainstream design ambition. While the awards program has always shone a light on architectural excellence in wood, winning projects in recent years also frequently demonstrate innovation, technical achievement, and a strong commitment to sustainability.
Submissions will be reviewed by a distinguished jury of Canadian and American architects. Projects will be evaluated based on creativity, design excellence, and the innovative and appropriate use of wood to achieve project objectives.
Award categories for 2025 include:
Non-residential
Residential
Adaptive Reuse, Additions, and Renovations
International Building
Other (e.g. exterior structures, bridges)
The program also includes several specialty awards:
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Award
Sansin Award
Real Cedar Award
Wood Preservation Canada (WPC) Award
Regional WoodWorks Awards for Ontario, British Columbia, and the Prairies
Winners will receive a custom wood trophy and be recognized through a media announcement, social media, a feature profile on the Wood Innovation Network, and editorial coverage in Wood Design & Building Magazine (digital edition).
Key Dates:
Early Bird Deadline - May 31, 2025
Submission Deadline - June 27, 2025
For media inquiries, please contact:
Sarah Hicks
Communications and Outreach Manager
Canadian Wood Council
shicks@cwc.ca | 1-705-796-3381
About the Canadian Wood Council
The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) is Canada’s unifying voice for the wood products industry. As a national federation of associations, our members represent hundreds of manufacturers across the country. Our mission is to support our members by accelerating market demand for wood products and championing responsible leadership through excellence in codes, standards, and regulations. We also deliver technical support and knowledge transfer for the construction sector through our market leading WoodWorks program.
Photo one: Pyrrha (Vancouver, BC) | Birmingham & Wood Architects Planners LLP
Photo two: Arbour House (Victoria, BC) | Patkau Architects
Photo three: təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre (New Westminster, BC) | hcma architecture + design
Photo four: Nuxalk Mask, song and dance (Bella Coola, BC) | Mackin Architects Ltd.
Photo five: Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre (Burnaby, BC) | hcma architecture + design
Images courtesy of the Wood Design & Building Awards
The Canadian Wood Council is accepting submissions for the 2025 Wood Design & Building Awards. Now in its 41st year, this annual program invites architects, designers, and project teams from across North America and around the world to submit their most inspiring wood projects for consideration.
“At its core, this program is a celebration of architectural excellence,” says Martin Richard, VP Market Development & Communications at the Canadian Wood Council. “Each year, we’re inspired by the many ways designers harness wood’s versatile beauty—from bold, expressive forms to quietly transformative spaces.”
Over the decades, we’ve seen the creativity and talent of hundreds of project teams bring important changes to the built environment—elevating wood from a niche material to a sustainable, mainstream design ambition. While the awards program has always shone a light on architectural excellence in wood, winning projects in recent years also frequently demonstrate innovation, technical achievement, and a strong commitment to sustainability.
Submissions will be reviewed by a distinguished jury of Canadian and American architects. Projects will be evaluated based on creativity, design excellence, and the innovative and appropriate use of wood to achieve project objectives.
Award categories for 2025 include:
Non-residential
Residential
Adaptive Reuse, Additions, and Renovations
International Building
Other (e.g. exterior structures, bridges)
The program also includes several specialty awards:
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Award
Sansin Award
Real Cedar Award
Wood Preservation Canada (WPC) Award
Regional WoodWorks Awards for Ontario, British Columbia, and the Prairies
Winners will receive a custom wood trophy and be recognized through a media announcement, social media, a feature profile on the Wood Innovation Network, and editorial coverage in Wood Design & Building Magazine (digital edition).
Key Dates:
Early Bird Deadline - May 31, 2025
Submission Deadline - June 27, 2025