Roofscape Design Awards Return Showcasing Top Trussed Rafter Designs

THE TRUSSED Rafter Association’s (TRA) Roofscape Design Awards is back to showcase and celebrate the ingenuity and technical skills of designers in the trussed rafter sector.

Following a successful launch in 2023, the awards are back for its second year. The awards will recognise projects that showcase the highest design, innovation, and sustainability standards in using timber-trussed rafter roofs.

Roofscape Design Awards

The Roofscape Design Awards will recognise excellence in three categories:

• Commercial Project of the Year (for all non-domestic projects)
• Conversion and Refurbishment Project of the Year (for existing housing projects)
• Residential Project of the Year (for newbuild dwellings)

Last year’s winners included Harry Peate of Truss Form (Midlands) Ltd, who designed the roof for a Grade II listed structure built over 180 years ago; Gemma Weston from DWB Anglia who created an open habitable roof space without vertical posts or large steel structures; and Sue Darbyshire at Donaldson Timber Engineering who created a complex design which facilitated the installation of a mechanical and electrical component while allowing the external roof envelope to be covered.

Problem Solving Skills

Nick Boulton, Chief Executive of the TRA said, “Trussed rafters are a widely used modern method of roof construction made from the use of nature’s most sustainable building material: timber.

“Although it is estimated that there are about 60 million trussed rafters in service in the UK today, the design skills involved in their construction often remain underappreciated within the construction industry.

“The Roofscape Design Awards will shine a spotlight on the roof truss designers’ problem-solving skills while showing the timber engineering design as an attractive career for the next generation.

“The 2023 entries were spectacular and inspiring, and we will be celebrating the beautifully completed projects of 2023.”

Entries Open

The TRA Roofscape Design Awards are now open for entries from all TRA member companies in the UK and Ireland. A panel of experts in timber engineering, architecture and sustainable design will judge the entries. Winners will be announced at the TRA AGM in April 2024.

The deadline for entry is 15 March 2024, and entries must be submitted online via the TRA’s website. The awards are free to enter for all TRA member companies; each company can submit one entry to each of the categories.

The Trussed Rafter Association (TRA) represents the trussed rafter and metal web joist industry in the UK and Ireland. Members include the principal manufacturers of trussed rafters, metal web joists, suppliers and professionals involved in roof truss and engineered wood floor joist design and manufacture.

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