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Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit WoodWorks – Wood Products Council has announced the winners of its 2023 Wood Design Awards, which honor excellence and innovation in American building projects that utilize mass timber, heavy timber, light-frame, and hybrid building design. This year’s winners represent a wide swath of scale and function, including a 19-story tall timber tower in Milwaukee, an open-air events pavilion in St. Louis, and a mixed-use prototype structure in Portland, Oregon, from Design Vanguard firm Waechter Architecture. A handful of this year’s winning projects have previously been featured by RECORD, most recently the Houston Endowment Headquarters,

Projects were selected by an independent award jury which included Corey Martin, principal of Portland-based of Hacker Architects; Cheung Chan, associate and architect at Iowa City-based Neumann Monson Architects, and Lauren Wingo, senior structural engineer at Arup.

"Investing in a more sustainable future deserves to be recognized. It’s an honor to celebrate design teams that inspire the broader AEC community by challenging the expectations of modern design and construction,” said WoodWorks president and CEO Jennifer Cover. “This year's winning projects represent the work of building designers from across the nation who are demonstrating the incredible potential of wood.”

Spread across ten diverse national categories including Beauty of Wood and Institutional Wood Design, the winners also include twelve superlative wood buildings recognized for regional excellence.

See below for a full list of this year's winners.

National Winners

Commercial Wood Design—Mid-Rise: Mississippi Workshop | Portland, Oregon

  • Architect/Developer: Waechter Architecture
  • Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
  • Contractors: Waechter Architecture, Owen Gabbert, LLC, and Cutwater PDX
Mississippi Workshop Waechter Architecture

Mississippi Workshop by Waechter Architecture. Photo © Lara Swimmer

Commercial Wood Design—Low-Rise: High Tech Client Campus | Mountain View, California

  • Architect: WRNS Studio
  • Structural Engineer: Holmes
  • Contractor: Rudolph and Sletten
WRNS Studio

High Tech Client Campus by WRNS Studio. Photo © Bruce Damonte

Wood in Schools: San Jacinto College Anderson-Ball Classroom Building | Pasadena, Texas

  • Architect: Kirksey Architecture
  • Developer/Owner: San Jacinto College
  • Structural Engineer
  • Contactor: Tellepsen
San Jacinto College Anderson-Ball Classroom Building by Kirksey Architecture

San Jacinto College Anderson-Ball Classroom Building by Kirksey Architecture. Photo © Joe Aker

Multi-Family Wood Design: Central Lofts | Portland, Oregon

  • Architect: Jones Architecture
  • Developer/Owner: BlackRock
  • Structural Engineer: Froelich Engineers
  • Contractor: R&H Construction
Central Lofts by Jones Architecture

 Central Lofts by Jones Architecture. Photo © David Papazian

Wood in Government Buildings: Winthrop Library | Winthrop, Washington

  • Architect: Jones Architecture with Prentiss Balance Wickline
  • Developer/Owner: Friends of the Winthrop Library 
  • Structural Engineer: Methow Engineering
  • Contractor: Impel Construction
Winthrop Library by Johnston Architects

Winthrop Library by Johnston Architects. Photo © Benjamin Drummond

Institutional Wood Design: Locust Grove Event Pavilion | Louisville

Locust Grove Event Pavilion by de Leon Primmer Workshop

Locust Grove Event Pavilion by de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop. Photo © de Leon & Primmer

Sustainable Wood Design: The Ecology School | Saco, Maine

  • Architects: Simons Architects, Kaplan Thompson, and Briburn Architecture
  • Developer/Owner: The Ecology School
  • Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
  • Contractor: Zachau Construction
The Ecology School by Simons Architects and Kaplan Thompson

The Ecology School by Simons Architects and Kaplan Thompson. Photography © Trent Bell

Beauty of Wood: Patricia Reser Center for the Arts | Beaverton, Oregon

  • Architect: Ospis Architecture
  • Developer/Owner: City of Beaverton
  • Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
  • Contractor: Skanska
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts by Ospis Architecture

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts by Ospis Architecture. Photo © Josh Partree

Durable and Adaptable Wood Structures: Maclac Building D  | San Francisco

  • Architect: Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects and Peter Logan Architecture and Design
  • Developer/Owner: Comstock Realty Partners
  • Structural Engineer: Gregory P. Luth and Associates
  • Contractor: Rod Heisler Construction
Maclac Building D by Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects and Peter Logan Architecture and Design

Maclac Building D by Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects and Peter Logan Architecture and Design. Photo © Billy Hustace

Innovation: Ascent | Milwaukee

  • Architect: Korb + Associates
  • Developer/Owners: New Land Enterprises and Weichmann Enterprises
  • Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
  • Contractors: C.D. Smith Construction and Catalyst Construction
Ascent by Korb + Associates

Ascent by Korb + Associates. Photo © CD Smith Construction


Regional Excellence Winners

INTRO | Cleveland

  • Architect: Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture
  • Developer: Harbor Bay Ventures
  • Structural Engineer: Forefront Structural Engineers
  • Contractor: Panzica Construction

Idaho Central Credit Union Area | Moscow, Idaho

  • Architects: Ospis Architecture and Hastings+Chivetta Architects
  • Developer/Owner: University of Idaho
  • Structural Engineers: KPFF Consulting Engineers (base building); StructureCraft (roof structure)
  • Contractor: Hoffman Construction

1030 Music Row | Nashville

  • Architect: Anecdote Architectural Experiences
  • Developer/Owner: Panattoni Development Company
  • Structural Engineer: StructureCraft
  • Contractor: Turner Construction

80 M Street | Washington, D.C.

  • Architect: Hickok Cole
  • Developer: Columbia Property Trust
  • Structural Engineer: Arup
  • Contractor: James G. Davis Construction

Chemeketa Community College Agricultural Complex | Salem, Oregon

  • Architect: FFA Architecture
  • Developer/Owner: Chemeketa Community College
  • Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
  • Contractor: Swinerton Builders

Wellesley College Science Complex | Wellesley, Massachusetts

  • Architect: SOM
  • Developer/Owner: Wellesley College
  • Structural Engineer: Le Messurier
  • Contractor: Turner Construction

Kansas City Current Training Facility | Riverside, Missouri

  • Architect: Generator Studio
  • Developer/Owner: Kansas City Current
  • Structural Engineer: Apex Engineers
  • Contractor: Monarch Build

Nanotronics Smart Factory | Brooklyn, New York

  • Architect: Rogers Partners
  • Developer/Owner: Nanotronics Imagine
  • Structural Engineer: Silman
  • Contractor: Eurostruct

Houston Endowment Headquarters | Houston

  • Architects: Kevin Daly Architects and Productura
  • Developer/Owner: Houston Endowment
  • Structural Engineer: Arup
  • Contractor: WS Bellows 

Ellis Golf Course Clubhouse | Cedar Rapids, Iowa

  • Architect: OPN Architects
  • Developer/Owner: City of Cedar Rapids 
  • Structural Engineer: Structural Design Group
  • Contractor: Septagon Construction

Crested Butte Center for the Arts | Crested Butte, Colorado

  • Architects: Steinberg Hart and Andrew Hadley
  • Developer/Owner: Center for the Arts
  • Structural Engineer: Resource Engineering Group
  • Contractor: Black Dragon Development

316 12th Street | Oakland, California

  • Architect/Developer: oWOW Design
  • Structural Engineer: Altos Structural Engineering
  • Contractor: oWow Construction

To read more about each project, visit WoodWorks' award gallery.