River Tay Boathouse Wins Structural Timber Award

07.10.2025

1 minute read

Four people on a stage collecting an award

We’re thrilled to share that the River Tay Boathouse, designed by architects Barboza Blanco and crafted by Carpenter Oak, has won the Private Housing Project of the Year category at the 2025 Structural Timber Awards. The award was accepted on behalf of the team by our Managing Director, Luke Copley-Wilkins, at the awards ceremony on 1st October, marking a proud moment for everyone involved.

This project began as a bold ambition: to breathe new life into a tidal riverside site while honouring the craft of timber construction. The original masonry boathouse walls were preserved as a frame, and in contrast, a new structure built from locally sourced Douglas fir and larch took shape within them. The timber for the frame was carefully selected and milled from the adjacent forest, and draft horses were used for extraction to preserve the woodland environment.

Our team used traditional pegged mortice-and-tenon joinery, avoiding structural steel to let the wood tell the story. Throughout, sustainability and precision were intertwined.

We’re grateful to our clients, architects, engineers and every craftsman whose passion and dedication made this possible.

Read more about this project: River Tay Boathouse

Photo credit: Eoghan Smith and Rohan Strathie