With just two days before the Australian Timber Design Awards, Andrew Dunn is preparing for his 24th award.
With a history dating back to 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympics, the awards have crowned many of Australia’s most iconic timber buildings.
“Australia has such a strong history and tradition regarding timber design,” Mr Dunn said.
From the multi-award-winning International House in Barangaroo right through to the proposed Milligan Group’s hybrid timber tower, the Atlassian Central Tower and more recently, C6 in Perth.
“We have always punched above our weight, and the applications have once again been exceptional,” said Mr Dunn.
In addition to being the long-time organiser of the awards, Mr Dunn is the CEO of Australia’s Timber Development Association and is the organiser of the Timber Offsite Construction conference.
Speaking to the Wood Central Publisher, Andrew Dunn said this year’s awards will be hosted at Cargo Hall on the banks of the Yarra, directly opposite the Melbourne Convention Centre.
“And we have a new host,” Mr Dunn enthused.
For the first time, the event will be hosted by Tim Ross, better known as ‘Russo,’ an Australian comedian, radio host, writer and television presenter.
“Most importantly, he is a self-proclaimed architectural nerd.”
Tim began his career performing stand-up comedy with Merrick Watts as part of the duo Merrick and Rosso. He is now better known as the presenter of the ABC shows Streets of Your Town and Designing a Legacy.
Tim has led speaking engagements at The 50s and 60s House Symposium (Museum of Sydney), Home Series talks (Government House), and Sydney Design Week, and he is an ambassador for the Sydney Open.
And in December 2018, he launched the “Home: A Suburban Obsession” exhibition at the State Library of Queensland.
He has written on architecture for various publications, including Real Living, Habitus, The Saturday Paper, The Smith Journal, Qantas Magazine and The Guardian. In 2019, Ross was awarded the prestigious National President’s Prize from the Australian Institute of Architects for his advocacy work in architecture.
“This makes him a perfect choice to host the awards,” Mr Dunn said.
After finalising the judging across 11 categories, Mr Dunn has been impressed with the calibre of entrants with the awards open to architects, engineers and building designers passionate about timber use in projects.
“A surge in entries focusing on multi-residential and mid-rise construction,” he told Wood Central earlier this month.
According to Mr Dunn, there is still a limited number of tickets available for Thursday night.
“But I would be quick as they are selling fast; we can’t wait to see you on Thursday!”
