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Industry organisation Swedish Wood’s prize for sustainable architecture, the Swedish Wood Award 2020, will be announced at a digital gala streamed live on 2 December. The Wood Award Gala was set to take place back in March, but has now been upgraded to a digital event broadcast live from Berns in Stockholm, Sweden.
“It’s wonderful that we finally get to reward and recognise the exciting projects linked with this year’s Swedish Wood Award,” comments Carmen Izquierdo, chair of the Award jury.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Swedish Wood decided to change its approach. Instead of serving up pomp and ceremony for a limited audience at the venue as was planned, entertainment and the full gala experience will now be streamed live to everyone. Celebrating Swedish architecture in wood remains important, and the winner of the Swedish Wood Award 2020 still must be announced.

The live-streamed event will be in Swedish however all will be interpret into English simultaneously. “We’ve all been reminded that we live in challenging times, with external circumstances affecting our lives and our future. We feel it’s more important than ever to inspire sustainable wood construction and keep our focus on the bigger picture. Despite the current upheavals, we must continue to think sustainably,” says architect Alexander Nyberg, who is responsible for the Swedish Wood Award at Swedish Wood.

The Swedish Wood Award – one of Sweden’s most prestigious prizes for architecture – is presented every four years to a new work in Sweden that demonstrates outstanding architectural qualities. The work may be a building, bridge or other structure where wood has been used to excellent effect, embracing the possibilities of the material while also reflecting and advancing Sweden’s architectural tradition.

The Swedish Wood Award 2020 received a total of 130 competitors. Of these, the jury has visited 40 buildings and 12 of them have been nominated. The winner will be announced at the Wood Award Gala on 2 December, which will be streamed live online, and as mentioned also possible to follow in English. Learn more about the nominees here.