Roofscape Design Awards Winners Announced 

The winners of the TRA’s first Roofscape Design Awards were officially announced at the TRA’s new-format AGM and Conference at Kettering Park Hotel last week.  

The awards recognise the technical skills required to design trussed rafter roofs, joists, and panels and celebrate outstanding projects in three categories: Residential Project of the Year, Conversion and Refurbishment Project of the Year, and Commercial Project of the Year. 

The panel of judges included Nick Boulton, chief executive of the TRA, Liz Male, managing director of Liz Male Consulting, Rob Lockey former head of training at the NHBC, and Les Fuller, chair of the TRA’s technical committee. 

The winning projects showcase the ingenuity and technical skills of designers in this sector and with so many exceptional entries, made it a tough decision for the judges. Here’s what they said: 

Residential Project of the Year 2023 (for newbuild dwellings) 

Winner 

DWB Anglia Ltd – Stableview and Moldavia, Tiptree 

“A solution that utilised the designer’s know-how and systems software features to create a habitable roof space to exceed the client’s requirements. Great residential project showing the potential of attic trusses. Complex and challenging design with raised collars, a flat roof section and minimal internal support.”

Highly commended  

Crendon Timber Engineering Ltd – New homes, Cheshire  

“The comprehensive project description gave clear information on how the design brief was met. It showed a complex roofscape requiring high vaulted areas inside the building. The end product and project savings were credited to the designer’s ingenuity. An inspirational roofscape illustrates that timber products can deliver goods.” 

Conversion and Refurbishment Project of the Year (for existing housing projects) 

Winner 

Truss Form (Midlands) Ltd – Plough Maltings Brewery, Burton on Trent 

“A very strong winner delivering complex, unusual shapes which showcases what can be achieved with trussed rafters. This entry had an excellent project description with photographs of the existing building and drawings & photographs of the new roof. It was clearly challenging to match the new roof to the old – a very specific requirement as the building is Grade 2 listed, and it was a large and complex roofscape. A scheme that received high marks in all categories making it the highest-scoring entry in all classes.” 

Commercial Project of the Year (for all non-domestic projects).  

Winner  

Donaldson Timber Engineering – New Care Home, Canterbury 

“A competent and innovative overall roof design, the most complex of the entries received in all categories. A winning combination of design expertise and creative thinking. This was a large and complex roof with many steps and staggers, also featuring a requirement for M & E plant to be hidden within the roof structure with the consequent installation and maintenance access challenges.”

Highly commended 

Pasquill – Care Home, Mablethorpe   

“A large building with very large, trussed rafters. This project provides proof that trusses can be utilised on large-span low-pitch roofs. This project of super-sized trussed rafters is a significant step into the design sectors usually occupied by other materials in the UK.” 

Highly commended 

Minera Roof Trusses Ltd – Laserquest project 

“Unusual and innovative use of trussed rafter technology. Not strictly a roofscape but an excellent illustration of how to push the boundaries of where trussed rafters and metal web can be used. It showed how to use a mix of our engineered products to provide a comprehensive design solution – thinking outside the box.” 

Congratulations to all the winners, and we look forward to seeing their continued success in the industry. 

We will be running a series of write-ups on the winning and highly commended entries, so don’t forget to subscribe to our e-newsletters for updates.

The Roofscape Design Awards will return in 2024. For more information, visit the TRA members’ area for regular updates.