Timber Futures

Overview

Timber Futures is a free global design competition by CREATHLON Competitions, inviting the next generation of architects, designers, and visionaries to reimagine what it means to build sustainably.

This is more than a call for beautiful buildings, it’s a call for bold thinking, for radical creativity, for structures that don’t just occupy the earth, but honour it. Whether you’re a student, a recent graduate, or a curious creator, this is your invitation to design with purpose, with material honesty, and with a vision for the future.

Let your work speak of forests, of craftsmanship, of resilience, and join a global movement shaping the architecture of tomorrow, one timber beam at a time.

The Challenge

As we stand at the edge of an environmental crisis, the materials we choose — and the stories they tell — matter more than ever. Timber Futures challenges you to dream bigger and build wiser, using one of the world’s oldest materials in daring new ways.

Timber is not just a building block.
It is carbon captured in form, time compressed into texture, tradition layered with innovation.

It grows, it breathes, it connects.
It is renewable, resilient, and profoundly human.

Your task is to design a project where at least 50% of the structural system is made from timber. You may revisit a past idea or create something entirely new, but your proposal should explore timber’s potential as a design driver.

We encourage:

Imagination over convention

Vision over repetition

Depth over decoration

Choose any site — real or speculative — and respond to its context. Let the grain of the material guide your concept. Consider how timber can reduce environmental impact, transform community space, or rekindle ancient techniques with contemporary relevance.

Timber has been with us since the beginning. Now, it may hold the key to our architectural future. What will you build with it?

What to Submit

3 x A3 Renders (Landscape)

Aerial View
Show the project’s environmental context and timber expression at a broad scale.
(Material palette should be visible or implied.)

Eye-Level View
Emphasise human experience and atmosphere. Highlight timber details, textures, or joinery.

Section
Clearly illustrate structural systems and materiality.
Annotations or minimal labels are allowed to clarify timber use.
(Optional: You may include axonometrics or diagrams within this image, as long as they remain focused.)

Project Description (max 500 words)

Clearly explain how timber is used structurally, environmentally, and aesthetically in your design.
Include material percentages if helpful, and ensure your description supports the information presented in the visuals.

Please note: All submission files combined must not exceed 10MB in total.

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