The University of the Sunshine Coast’s Moreton Bay campus is fast becoming one of Australia’s most important showcases for timber construction, with Forestry Australia’s Queensland Branch to tour the timber‑rich precinct on Thursday.
So far, more than $240 million has been spent on building the campus, with Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Helen Bartlett cutting the ribbon on three new buildings in April 2024, bringing the total to 16,000 square metres of teachable space on Queensland’s fastest-growing university campus.
“Seeing the campus highlights how timber construction is already delivering high-performance, working buildings at scale,” according to Dr Sam Van Holsbeeck, who is organising the Field Trip – Building with Timber Construction, Performance and Design Life, which involves a tour of USC’s National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life and a trip to iTreat’s timber treatment plant.
Last year, Wood Central tracked the progress of the massive project, which used more than 2,000 pre-finished interior AC-iHoop and Ariaply throughout the buildings. At the time, Scott Matthews, the Joint CEO of Austal Plywoods, revealed that plywood was “cost-effective and delivered ready to install.”
Built by Badge Construction and designed by KIRK Studio – at the forefront of Australia’s push to embrace mass timber design—and Cottee Parker, the three buildings each use a prefabricated mass timber superstructure, combining HESS Timber’s glulam and Xlam’s cross-laminated timber.
According to Richard Kirk, principal of KIRK Studio, using both prefabrication and mass timber “has proven to sequester carbon using renewable timber feedstock to significantly reduce construction time, reduce waste, and support safer and quieter construction sites.”
Kirk is Queensland’s pre-eminent expert in mass timber design and has been responsible for the design of almost all mass timber buildings in Queensland. “The exposed timber structure, generous windows and large light-filled atriums produce an entirely new open typology for UniSC — fit for a young university unconstrained by traditional ways,” KIRK Studio said, adding that “the design showcases the University as an active, growing campus and produces a sense of gravity – drawing in students, staff and community members alike.”
As one of the country’s leaders in timber research, USC was invited to join the University of Tasmania and the University of Melbourne in establishing an Australian Forest and Wood Innovation Centre focused on indigenous and agroforestry opportunities in Northern Australia.
So far, more than 4,700 students are studying at UniSC Moreton Bay, and Professor Bartlett said the campus is exceeding expectations. “There was enormous demand for a university campus at Moreton Bay before UniSC arrived, and we continue to see many non‑school leavers enrolling as well as the traditional school leaver cohort from local secondary schools,” she said.
Popular programs at the campus include Nursing Science, Primary Education, Social Work, Biomedical Science and the university’s Tertiary Preparation Pathway. Mayor Peter Flannery said the campus is reshaping opportunities for local residents. “Over 40 per cent of students at the Moreton Bay campus are the first in their families to study, and 70 per cent are Moreton Bay residents. We know this demand will just grow,” he said. “Co‑locating start‑ups, entrepreneurs and innovators alongside students and researchers is a way for businesses to connect with their future workforce and drive additional opportunities for collaboration.”
Full Program for the Forestry Australia field trip
- 9.15 am – Meet at UniSC Moreton Bay Campus
- 9.30 am-11.00 am – Introduction and guided tour of the UniSC Moreton Bay Campus, showcasing timber buildings, mass timber and prefabricated construction, and sustainability outcomes.
- 11.00 am -12.00 pm – Presentation by the National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life on timber durability and exposure trials, including display samples and discussion.
- 12.00 pm-12.45 pm – Lunch
- 12.45 pm-1.00 pm – Travel to iTreat Timber
- 1.00 pm-2.30 pm – Visit to iTreat Timber, including a guided tour of the facilities and an overview of timber treatment and preservation processes.
