{"id":9427,"date":"2023-08-08T12:02:46","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T02:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=9427"},"modified":"2024-12-16T20:48:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T10:48:18","slug":"tasmanias-first-mass-timber-building-tops-out-at-rapid-speed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/tasmanias-first-mass-timber-building-tops-out-at-rapid-speed\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasmania’s First Mass Timber Building Tops Out at Rapid Speed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tasmania’s tallest mass timber building is taking shape in downtown Launceston and its turning many heads!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As reported by ABC Tasmania<\/a>, the seven-storey building which will house St Luke’s Health’s new headquarters is going up fast, much faster than those made from traditional building products like steel and concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The speed of construction has been the biggest eye-opener for us,” Fairbrother’s General Manager for North East Tasmania Marcus Perkins told ABC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, Fairbrother reported that the mass timber frame was in place, with work now moving to internal construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All going to plan, the building will be operational by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sydney-based Terrior designed<\/a> the building with five levels of massive, engineered timber beams that stand out in the skyline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Terrior design retains the existing 19th-century warehouses as well as the structure of the foyer, a cross-site link that connects to the grounds of the adjacent church and associated public spaces on a ground level, such as end-of-trip facilities. (Image Credit: Terrior.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In line with the vision of St Luke’s, the tower was designed to be the most sustainable and carbon-positive office development in Tasmania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement by the architect, “the targeted carbon reduction of 40% made this project one of the first Net Zero Carbon projects in Australia.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terroir said, “The building’s mass timber construction method targeted the removal of 7,665 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere \u2013 the equivalent emissions of 2,141 cars driving 20,000km per year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, a life cycle plan guides the timber configuration and detailing such that if the building is no longer relevant and is demolished, the structure can be re-engineered and re-used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design gallery provided by Terrior<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is one of only a half dozen mass timber buildings under construction across Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are getting requests for tours every week from architects, clients, industry groups, builders, engineers, everyone,” Mr Perkins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake Herbet, Project Manager for Fairbrother, said the project featured a timber concrete hybrid connection on level 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This allows us to pour a concrete slab over the top of the timber to weatherproof the deck and terrace areas.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xlam supplied almost 90% of the CLT panels <\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Xlam <\/a>assisted Fairbrother with cross-laminated timber panels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By volume, Xlam supplied 961m3 of CLT, or 89% of the total CLT on the project \u2013 with the remaining 11% provided by local manufacturer Cusp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CLT was Australian Grown and Manufactured using Hyne Radiata Pine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Xlam, environmental drivers, the speed of construction, building aesthetics, biophilia (occupant wellness) and carbon storage were among the major drivers for this approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Xlam, Fairbrother reported that Hess Timber<\/a> supplied the Glulam beams, and mass timber carpentry specialists Savcon <\/a>also assisted with the timber build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CLT was Australian Grown and Manufactured using Hyne Radiata Pine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mr Perkins, mass timber is not adequately addressed in the National Building Code or Australian standards, “so we had to develop performance solutions which were referenced back to the European standards.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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