Swedish Wood Award

Your choice can build the future.

The Swedish Wood Award (Sw: Träpriset) is one of Sweden’s biggest and most important architectural competitions, presented every four years to a building that represents good architecture in wood and that reflects the times we live in. The winner of the Swedish Wood Award 2020 was the 13th winner since 1967. The Swedish Wood Award is awarded by Swedish Wood. Previous winners include the architects Gert Wingårdh, Jan Gezelius and Carl Nyrén.

Entries are submitted to a jury, which then draws up a shortlist of nominees for the Swedish Wood Award. The list of nominated buildings is published in the magazine Trä before the jury finally picks out the winning design. Ahead of each Swedish Wood Award, the nominees are presented in the book “Architecture in Wood” with photos, drawings and descriptions.

The aim is to continue developing the prize so that wood construction and wooden architecture gain even more attention.

History of the Swedish Wood Award

The Swedish Wood Award was set up by Träinformation, as the industry body was once known, and was first awarded in 1967.

Initially the prize was awarded to the originator of a building or a wooden structure.

Swedish Wood Award winners
2016 Råå Preschool, Helsingborg (Swedish)
2012 Tomtebo Forest Sauna – Meter Arkitektur (Swedish)
2008 Östra Kvarnskogen – Brunnberg & Forshed Arkitektkontor and Folkhem (Swedish)
2004  Universeum genom Wingårdh Arkitektkontor and Universeum (Swedish)
2000 Trosa Skärgård holiday home – architects N. Racki and H. Widjedal  (Swedish)
1996 Zorn Textile Museum – architect Anders Landström (Swedish)
1992 Information building for Vuollerim stone age village – architects Per Persson and Mats Winsa and curator Ulf Westfal 
1988 Villa Olby – architect Torsten Askergren and client Kerstin Olby 
1976 Kurt Tenning, civil engineer 
1972 Jan Gezelius, Architect SAR 
1970 Carl-Ivar Ringmar, Architect SAR 
1967 Carl Nyrén, Architect SAR

The rules

From the Swedish Wood Award 1988, the rules were changed so that the award would be given to the building. The current rules state that:

The Swedish Wood Award is an architectural prize awarded by Swedish Wood. It is a prize for good architecture in wood that reflects the times we live in. It is awarded to a completed new building, bridge or other structure in Sweden, where wood has been used to attain particular architectural qualities in combination with other materials and with a structural design or system solution that exemplifies the right way to use and treat wood.

The Swedish name for the prize, Träpriset, is registered as a trademark with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office.