{"id":10589,"date":"2023-09-12T16:27:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T06:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=10589"},"modified":"2024-10-21T20:27:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:27:47","slug":"owow-president-among-highlights-as-timber-offsite-wraps-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/owow-president-among-highlights-as-timber-offsite-wraps-up\/","title":{"rendered":"oWOW President Among Highlights as Timber Offsite Wraps Up!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The president of oWoW, the developer behind the USA’s first post and plate high-rise development<\/a>, was among the headline speakers on the final day of the Timber Offsite Construction Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Ball was one of 30 speakers who presented at the conference built around the theme ‘Timber & Technology: The Zero Carbon Future’.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spoke during the ‘Global Developments & Trends’ discussion, chaired by Professor Perry Forsythe from the University of Technology, Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featuring Steven Craft, Principal of CHM First Consultants in Canada and Eric Guenther, Principal of US-based Interstice Construction, the session featured three leading North American figures in mass timber construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Ball, who travelled from the US to attend the conference, was impressed with the interest in mass timber construction across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You have earned the ‘wow’ factor,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He commented during a discussion on the trend towards point-supported mass timber buildings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

oWOW has an in-house development, design, construction, and property management team with a vision for a sustainable building product that is repeatable, highly sustainable, and provides affordable luxury housing to the middle income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they have grand aspirations, with Wood Central reporting in May<\/a> that the company is targeting 600 global projects in the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bastiaan Kolff from Cox Architecture and David Sheikh from Stantec<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Frank Davern from hsbcad Software Solutions and Aasha Linnn from Australian Sustainable Hardwoods<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Chris Fodor from Siegware and Andrew Fergusion from Siegware<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Using mass timber instead of concrete and steel, oWOW saved 15% overall cost and 25% for the construction team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their construction system of choice is a point support (post and flat plate) timber construction system that uses mass timber floor panels supported on columns only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was recently deployed in oWOW’s 18-storey mass timber building in Oakland, constructed over a one-level concrete podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Described as the world’s tallest beamless mass plywood structure, work on 1510 Webster Street was finalised after just eight months on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Introducing 1510 Webster Street, the world’s first post and plate high-rise building. (Image credit: 1510 Webster Street)
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With an eye to future sessions, Mr Ball was impressed with the Murdoch University Boola Katatjin project, one of the two iconic building case studies discussed during the afternoon session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Boola Katajin – the Southern Hemisphere’s largest mass timber structure – was awarded the WA Engineering’ Project of the Year.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aurecon accepted the award with Pratik Shrestha joining Blake Alexander from Luons, Jess Naller from Multiplex and Tysan Infanti from Hess Timber in the second last conference session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In March 2023, the latest group of Murdoch University students attended a graduation ceremony on Northern Events Plaza. (Photo credit: Murdoch University)

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In June<\/a>, the WA chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects Awards awarded the project with the state’s top design award, with the university now a frontrunner to secure the national award, announced next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project achieved a 6 Star Green Star Design and As-Built rating, which, according to the Green Building Council of Australia, “demonstrates leadership in sustainability on an international scale.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 180-meter-long structure even secured a feature on ABC’s Landline.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project used more than 2,143 tonnes of timber, with mass timber pieces of all different lengths manufactured offsite before being assembled like a giant Meccano set or puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More than 1800 individual pieces of glulam were connected together using a simple bolt and pin connection system, which allows for easy disassembly. (Photo Credit: Murdoch University)
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In June, Wood Central reported that, by volume, the glue-laminated timber beams used in the Northern Plaza are the largest installed in Australia by volume \u2013 at 7,282 kilograms in length and extending 26 metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Timber Offsite Construction conference will wrap up later today, with the final session focused on the future of cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Stefan Gerber from Binderholtz with Greg Pankhurst from SPAX Pacific<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jim Bowden, Senior Editor of Wood Central with Andrew Ball, President of oWOW (Wood Central)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Corey Jones, from CLT Toolbox with Kerstan Gentle from FTMA and Scott Blakey from Australan Panels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Featuring Olivia Thim from Vaxjo Munipal, the session will focus on V\u00e4xj\u00f6, recognised as Modern Wooded City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

V\u00e4xj\u00f6 is known as “The Greenest City in Europe” <\/a>and is the definition of a timber town. In 2017, V\u00e4xj\u00f6 was awarded the European Green Leaf Award 2018 by the European Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of a timber strategy established in the early 2010s, the V\u00e4xj\u00f6 Municipality committed that by 2020, 50% of new builds would be timber-based, and in 2015, set a Sustainable Agenda for 2030<\/a>, which leans heavily on low carbon timbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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