Egurtek closes its 7th edition after revitalising a strategic sector

With delegates from 11 countries

Egurtek closed its 7th International Forum on Architecture and Construction in Wood today with very positive results. The aim of the exhibition was to revitalise a strategic sector because of its economic, environmental and social functions. This event, supported by the Department of Economic Development and Infrastructures of the Basque Government, aims to raise awareness, give training and strengthen alliances on the entire value chain, and was attended by 1,149 delegates.

The presence of professional visitors from eleven countries (Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the UK and Spain) and different backgrounds confirms the strength of the event and its suitability as a meeting point. Egurtek covers the entire timber industry, including public administrations, sectorial associations and technology centres, as well as private companies and professionals. Furthermore, since the conference focuses on architects, who are key decision-makers to use timber in their projects, this space a is a great opportunity to promote the use of wood in a country with a large forest area but where consumption is below the average of that of benchmark economies in this sector.

“In our path towards sustainability, timber is the future,” was the message given by those in charge of the organisations that took part in the event’s official opening ceremony: Bittor Oroz, Basque Government Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Policy; Federico Saiz, Chairman of BASKEGUR; Matxalen Acasuso, Dean of the Official Basque-Navarrese Architects Association; and Xabier Basañez, General Manager of Bilbao Exhibition Centre.

The potential of this material has been demonstrated these days at the Congress, which is the only one in Spain on architecture and timber. World-renowned architects and engineers exhibited their work, including Lidewij Lenders, Janne Kantee, Andrew Waugh, Tszwai So, Víctor Orive, Carmelo Fernández Militino, Óscar and Iván Andrés Quintela, Beatriz Bergasa and Leire Badiola. The Technical Conferences were also well attended by people who wanted to learn more about the current status of three main topics: training in the forestry/wood sector, innovation in wood design and forest bioeconomy. As for the exhibition area, it included more than 70 companies and was very dynamic. Here, the Market Point consolidated as a place for companies to present their latest features and offer a wide range of products and services.

Awards Ceremony

The Egurtek Awards ceremony took place this morning. It is an initiative that is becoming increasingly important in the sector and is now an unmissable event for architects, engineers and other professionals. In the Building category, the award went to “Dos Casas de Corcho en Llafranc, Girona” (Two Cork Houses in Llafranc, Girona), submitted by Emiliano Lopez and Mónica Rivera. In the Timber Design category, the winner was “Potro”, by designers Gerard Bertomeu, Miriam Cabanas and Xavi Santodomingo. Meanwhile, “ARINA, una mesa para los hogares de hoy en día” (ARINA, a table for homes of today), from designer Silvia Ceñal, won the special prize for Local Wood (Basque Quality). In the Publication category, Miguel de Lozar de la Viña was given an award for his research “La cabaña moderna. Pequeñas arquitecturas en busca de sentido” (The modern hut. Little architectures in search of meaning). And lastly, in the new Interior Design category, the award-winning submission was “Taller de Arquitectura en Pamplona, Navarra” (Architecture Workshop in Pamplona, Navarre), by Xavier Chérrez and Raquel Cantera.

By |2018-10-29T10:50:32+01:0029 de October de 2018|0 Comments

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