The world’s largest hybrid building currently under construction in Sydney will use European-sourced cross-laminated timber and glulam beams for its 24 timber levels. Source: Timberbiz
Speaking at this week’s Timber Construct 2024 conference in Melbourne Tim Allen, from structural engineering company Taylor Thomas Whitting, said the timber components for the $1.5 billion 39-storey Atlassian Central Tower would be sourced from Wiehag and Stora Enso.
Mr Allen said that the sourcing of the CLT and glulam was originally designed for an open procurement pathway,
“We tried to leave it open to a competitive tender as best as we possibly could,” he said.
“This could have been either Australian or European supply, but ultimately, decisions were made, and the timber will now come from Europe.
“So, the European supply for this project has been appointed to Wiehag, with the CLT being supplied by Stora Enso.”
Mr Allen said the products were currently being fabricated and would start arriving early next year.
Located in Sydney’s new Innovation and Technology Precinct, Atlassian Sydney Headquarters will be 180 metres tall and includes a youth hostel occupying the lower levels. To be completed by 2025 and attracting 25,000 workers, the new 40,000m2 world-first commercial tower is a groundbreaking global first.
The benchmark design of timber, with a glass and steel facade, includes a mix of outdoor and indoor spaces and reaches over 40 storeys high.
Mr Allen described the tower being built next to Sydney’s Central Station as a timber building inside a much, much larger building.
“This hybrid building utilizes the performance characteristics of different materials, concrete, structured steel work and mass timber throughout the construction,” he said.
“Being a hybrid building, we’re trying to utilize the materials for its benefits and the right application in this aspect.
“So, we’ve been able to leverage these benefits and balance of materials combining into an aesthetic and environmental advantages of mass timber with also using the structural performances of benefits of steel and concrete.”
The building has concrete foundations as well as a concrete wall throughout the building with concrete “mega floors’’ from level one to level eight.
Mr Allen said that these would repeat every four floors.
“Next, we have the three timber floors that sit between the mega floors.
“And these repeat from level eight to level 32.
He said there was about 2000 square meters of timber floor plate.
“So that adds to quite a bit of timber.
“And finally, we have the structural steel exoskeleton that wraps around the side.”
Mr Allen said he was often asked why do we only have three stories of timber sitting between the mega floors?
“That’s a one of the outcomes of the fire separation strategy,” he said.
Mr Allen said the project had some interesting sustainability goals, including a 50% reduction in up front embodied carbon, 100% renewable energy from day one of operation, and a six-star green star rating.
