The Wood Marketing Federation (WMF) has launched the 2013 Third Level Student Wood
Awards. Organised in association with wood-ni, the awards are open to third level students who incorporate wood as an inherent element in their projects. They are regarded as the premier awards for third level students of architecture, engineering and design in Ireland who specialise in making work in timber and timber products. Award winners have gone on to pursue successful careers in wood and related businesses and have exhibited at Irish and international shows.

The objective of the awards is to encourage students to explore functional, aesthetic and design aspects of wood. The awards are judged by professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering and design. The feedback from the judging panel is extremely valuable to students.

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The 3^rd Level Student Wood Awards are divided into the following….

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Duncan Stewart calls on colleges to place timber at the heart of architecture, engineering and design courses.

Irish forest owners are fortunate to find ready and lucrative markets for all logs produced on the island. However, new outlets will be required in the future especially for new species, which is why the Wood Marketing Federation (WMF) encourages third level students to explore new and innovative ways of creating new markets for wood and wood products.

For a number of years WMF has been promoting greater use of wood especially in third level colleges. As a result, there has been an increase in time and input devoted to wood in architecture, engineering and design courses but Irish colleges are well behind other countries in this regard.

This was acknowledged by Duncan Stewart in his closing address at this year’s  Third Level Student Wood Awards. The architect and television presenter called on colleges to….

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This project aims to expand wood in the 3rd level courses in architecture, engineering and design. It concentrates on the final two years of relevant courses in universities and institutes of technology.

It runs in tandem with the 3rd Level Student Awards and the response from the colleges has been very positive without exception. Sustainability is a major focus in the minds of the students and lecturers alike. Wood ticks all the boxes for them.

A number of colleges are prepared to increase their input of wood and wood related studies in their courses. Both National Universities University College Dublin and University College Galway have specifically agreed to provide more hours with wood input in their architectural and engineering courses as a result of our promotional drive.

Convincing other colleges that wood needs to be an inherent element of courses will take longer and we need to provide colleges with more support….

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The Wood Marketing Federation fully supports the EU Timber Regulation which came into force on 3^rd March 2013. It has briefed its members and the wider timber industry on its implications including a meeting in Coillte HQ Newtownmountkennedy on Tuesday February 26.  Chaired by Paul Harvey, WMF Chairman, presentations were made by:

• Stephen Fitzpatrick, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, who provided an  update on the regulation and its implications for the wood industry.
• Ann  Weddle,  NEPCon UK & Ireland on the role of Monitoring Organisations.
• Pat Neville, Coillte Stewardship & Risk on the Coillte view.

 EU TIMBER REGULATION

 The European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into force on 3^rd March 2013.  After that date any operator who places timber or timber products on the EU market for the first time must ensure that they have been legally produced.

 EUTR places an obligation of due diligence on importers who will face severe penalties if they….

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THE WOOD MARKETING FEDERATION (WMF) recognises the enormous challenges facing the forest industry especially in its drive to increase export market share for home-grown timber. We promote the sector to key decision makers and stakeholders as a vibrant sustainable industry with major economic, environmental and social benefits.

A project we have identified for our 2012-13 programme is Vessel by the award winning architects O’Donnell + Tuomey. This is a major international project, which will promote Irish design and culture at the Venice Biennale. It also has huge potential in promoting Sitka spruce, a species at the centre of our forestry and forest products industry.

The Venice Biennale, begins in August, is regarded as the world’s greatest architectural exhibition. It is visited by the most influential international architects, designers, urban planners, developers and critics.

O’DONNELL + TUOMEY ARCHITECTS exhibited at the Biennale in 2004. This year David Chipperfield, artistic director, Biennale, has invited them to prepare a special….

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The Wood Marketing Federation organised a major seminar Wood for all Seasons seminar in Farmleigh on May 11. Shane McEntee, Minister of State, acknowledging the link between the forest and the end user provided the opening address while seven experts made presentations on the importance of wood as a sustainable material for construction and other applications.

The keynote speaker was Glen Howells, Glenn Howells Architects the Birmingham based practice. Howells who is Visiting Professor at Nottingham Trent University has led the practice to win numerous major design competitions and awards for a diverse range of building types including the Savill Garden Visitor Centre, Windsor: Newman University College, Birmingham; and the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh. His talk featured a number of case studies including the Savill buildings. It is regarded as one of the finest examples of  sustainability, practicality and architectural elegance in one building where oak and larch….

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The Wood Marketing Federation timber pavilion, which was launched at the 2009 Plan Expo show in Dublin provided the exhibition space for the Irish delegation at Timber Expo 2012 in the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

The exhibition which was commissioned by the Wood Marketing Federation in 2008 featured Irish wood using eased edged all over Sitka spruce sourced from Murray Timber. Designed by the award-winning architect Ciaran O’Connor, the result was widely acclaimed at the time by visitors to Plan Expo.

The Wood Marketing Federation was delighted that the show organisers, Coillte,  Enterprise Ireland, Murray Timber Group, Grainger Sawmills and Glennon Brothers.

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Meitheal-ethic is an annual joint project between The Wood Marketing Federation and Wood Collective, which took place at Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co. Laois. Meitheal-ethic is in tune with the forest as a meeting place and a reminder that woodlands are valued not only for their economic benefits but also for their social, environmental and spiritual contribution.

ELECTRIC PICINC 2008 -2013

The public space installation by Woodcollective at the Electric Picnic (2011), was meitheal-ethic, a play on words on the philosophy of the Meitheal Adhmaid platfom and the essence of form and space, as ideas, and built reality. As in previous years it was an archetypal space drawing on tradition and technology, a space for people to meet, talk and reflect.

The Forest of Light exhibition was a popular and relaxing space away from the rock….

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