Student Design Award

The Student Design Award celebrates emerging designers and gives students the opportunity to have their work recognised alongside leading timber projects from across the country. In addition, the two finalists will each receive an organised trip to attend the Gala Event in Auckland*.

Open to current students and recent graduates (within 12 months) from New Zealand tertiary providers in relevant disciplines, it recognises built, unbuilt and conceptual projects that make significant and realistic use of timber. 

Entries may be submitted by individual students or by teams, and must relate to student work completed for assessment between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025. Only one representative per finalist will be eligible for full sponsorship to attend the gala event.

Finalists will be required to provide proof of enrolment as part of their Stage 2 entry.

Full eligibility, verification and entry requirements for the Student Design Award are set out below, general award eligibility, terms & conditions can be found here.

_{*Up to the value of $1,000 (including GST) for one person, includes domestic travel to Auckland, one night accommodation on the night of the event, and one ticket to the event.}

Category 1
Entry is open to Year 3 and 4 students, as well as students enrolled in a relevant master’s degree, at a New Zealand tertiary education provider.

Judging criteria
Showcasing innovation in timber through conceptual or proposed projects where timber is featured as a solution to relevant building sector issues across New Zealand.

1. Why was timber chosen for the project?
2. How was timber effectively used to exploit its range of structural, environmental and/or aesthetic applications?
3. What was the decision process like that resulted in the use of timber for this project?

In addition to the general Eligibility & Criteria, Entry Conditions, Permissions, Publishing & Privacy, Image Usage Policy, Intellectual Property & Indemnity and Liability Disclaimer for the NZ Timber Design Awards, the following specific requirements apply to entries in the Student Design Award category.

Entrant eligibility

• Entry is open to Year 3 and 4 students, as well as students enrolled in a relevant master’s degree, at a New Zealand tertiary education provider. This includes domestic and international students who are enrolled at a recognised New Zealand tertiary institution.
• Entrants must be currently enrolled in, or have completed their studies within the 12 months immediately prior to the Awards entry closing date, from a recognised New Zealand tertiary programme (for example architecture, engineering, building science, industrial design, interior architecture, construction or a related discipline).
• Entries may be submitted by individual students or student teams. For team entries, all team members must meet the student eligibility requirements and one student must be nominated as the primary contact.

Project eligibility

• A submitted project must be student work produced as part of a formal course, studio, thesis or research project at a recognised New Zealand tertiary institution.
• For the Student Design Award category, the general requirement for entries to be based on a completed building or structure does not apply. Instead, a submitted project may be built, unbuilt or conceptual, provided it reflects a realistic application of timber design.
• A submitted project must have been completed for assessment between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025.
• A submitted project must have significant timber content, either structural or decorative.
• Projects may include the effective use of timber in combination with other materials.
• Projects entered in previous years in any NZ Timber Design Awards category must not be entered again.

Verification & permissions

• The supervising lecturer, studio coordinator or academic supervisor associated with the project must be named on the entry form.
• The supervising lecturer or academic supervisor may be asked to verify that the work is the entrant’s own student work, produced as part of the stated course or programme.
• Where a project has been developed in collaboration with an external organisation (for example an industry partner, client or sponsor), the entrant is responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions before entering, in addition to the general permissions requirements set out in the Awards Terms, Conditions & Permissions.

Category entry rules

• A project entered in the Student Design Award may also be entered in one additional category, provided it meets the eligibility criteria for that category, is submitted accordingly, and will incur the appropriate entry fee.
• Where a project is entered in both the Student Design Award and another category, project information (including project title, team and key details) must be consistent across categories.