Laois student crowned winner at national awards

Pictured being presented with the Best Use of Homegrown Timber award at the Forest Industries Ireland Future Timber Design Awards at a ceremony at TU Dublin Úna Duffy from Lea, Portarlington and Cael Chanders from Naas (centre) with (L-R) Joseph Little, Head of Construction, School of Architecture, Building and Environment, TU Dublin; Des O’Toole, Head of Marketing and Promotion at Coillte Forests; Dr Sameer Mehra, Programme Coordinator of the BSc Sustainable Timber Technology and a Lecturer in Timber Technologies and Wood Manufacturing at the School of Architecture, Building and Environment at TU Dublin; Mark McAuley, Director of Forest Industries Ireland. | Supplied

placeholder image — Pictured being presented with the Best Use of Homegrown Timber award at the Forest Industries Ireland Future Timber Design Awards at a ceremony at TU Dublin Úna Duffy from Lea, Portarlington and Cael Chanders from Naas (centre) with (L-R) Joseph Little, Head of Construction, School of Architecture, Building and Environment, TU Dublin; Des O’Toole, Head of Marketing and Promotion at Coillte Forests; Dr Sameer Mehra, Programme Coordinator of the BSc Sustainable Timber Technology and a Lecturer in Timber Technologies and Wood Manufacturing at the School of Architecture, Building and Environment at TU Dublin; Mark McAuley, Director of Forest Industries Ireland. | Supplied

Portarlington sustainable timber technology student crowned winner at inaugural Future Timber Design awards

A Laois student is the joint winner of the new national award for designing a modular bus shelter constructed using primarily Irish-grown timber

Úna Duffy from Lea, Portarlington, was announced the TU Dublin winner at the Future Timber Design Awards ─ a new initiative by Forest Industries Ireland (FII).

Úna, together with Cael Chanders from Naas, are sustainable timber technology students at TU Dublin, won the Best Use of Homegrown Timber award for their joint project.

They focused on producing a modular bus shelter constructed using primarily Irish-grown timber. The organisers said their contemporary design drew on traditional Irish woodworking and rural timber structures as inspiration and supported a circular life cycle model by utilising locally produced materials to reduce environmental impact, while still creating a strong long-lasting and functional structure.

The students were tasked with creatively exploring the potential of timber as a primary structural and architectural material. Their projects needed to focus on using homegrown timber as the main structural element, while responding to real-world constraints and design challenges.

Mark McAuley, Director of Forest Industries Ireland, congratulated the winners.

“This awards programme highlights the enormous potential of Irish-grown timber in the future of construction. Locally sourced timber can deliver not only sustainability and strong structural performance but also ambitious, innovative design. Projects like these from our next generation of architects, engineers, manufacturing and timber processing professionals demonstrate why it is so important to cultivate skills development and to continue investing in and supporting Ireland’s forestry and timber industry,” he said.

Des O’Toole, Head of Marketing and Promotion at Coillte Forests, presented the award.

“The Future Timber Design Awards highlight the importance of industry and academia working together to support undergraduate learning and nurture the next generation of talent. By connecting education with real-world industry experience, we can provide students with stronger opportunities to grow and succeed. We’re also delighted that next year the awards will expand to welcome entries from other universities, broadening the reach and impact of the programme,” he said.

Dr Sameer Mehra, Programme Coordinator of the BSc Sustainable Timber Technology and a Lecturer in Timber Technologies and Wood Manufacturing at the School of Architecture, Building and Environment at TU Dublin, commended the Portarlington woman

“We’re extremely proud of Úna Duffy and all the winners of the very first year of these exciting awards. Their projects are powerful examples of how the next generation of architects, architectural technologists, and timber technologists are rethinking sustainability through timber design. By using homegrown Irish timber in creative and expressive ways, the overall winners have demonstrated how locally sourced materials can reduce environmental impact while helping to create a built environment that is both sustainable and deeply connected to place,” he said.

The entries were judged by TU Dublin lecturers and FII representatives. The overall winner received a Future Timber Design Awards trophy and a €600 prize, while runners-up across different categories received cash prizes, with certificates presented to all participants.

Applicants were given 18 weeks to conceptualise and design their projects and were supported via Q&A drop-in sessions during the design phase, guest lectures on timber-led construction, and access to digital resources on sustainable timber systems.

The Future Timber Design Awards have been developed by FII to encourage sustainable and innovative timber design and construction. The programme helps bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world application, equipping students of relevant disciplines with the latest knowledge and skills in using timber in construction.