German Timber Construction Award 2009

The ultimate expression of LIGNA's tagline theme of "Making more out of wood" was the awards ceremony for the prestigious German Timber Construction Award 2009 at the VNZ pavilion.

This year there were five winners. Among the three winners in the "New Buildings" category was Germany's first ever timber-construction seven-storey apartment building. Designed by Berlin-based architects Kaden Klingbeil, the building was described by the jury as "setting a new trend in timber-based construction."

First prize in the "Components and Concepts" category went to a prototype Passive House low-energy building designed by a team of students from Darmstadt University of Technology (TU Darmstadt). Top honors as the best entry in the all-new third category, "Existing Buildings", went to Assem Architects (Karlrsuhe) for their refurbishment and extension of a school building.

The Award, which is offered by the Association of German Master Carpenters (BDZ) and carries a total prize pool of 25,000 euros, attracted some 214 entries.

The complete competition results are documented on the homepage of the Association of German Master Carpenters at www.bdz-holzbau.de.