A showcase midrise timber building launched this week will benefit Australia’s construction and forestry industries by demonstrating the extraordinary capacity of timber as a sustainable, renewable and versatile building resource. Source: Timberbiz
Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Richard Colbeck, said Forest and Wood Products Australia’s (FWPA) midrise demonstration represents an exciting step forward for Australia’s forestry sector.
“The change to the national construction code in 2016 has created new opportunities for the forestry sector to market timber products as a renewable rival for steel and concrete,” Minister Colbeck said.
“We’re certainly seeing a trend towards increased use of structural timber in large-scale construction developments as a more versatile and environmentally friendly option for 21st century tradies.
“The Coalition Government’s new National Forest Industry Plan will also support this by helping plant one billion new trees to meet the expected quadrupling of global demand for timber by 2050.
“The midrise building has been developed to give builders and designers a better understanding of how timber can be used, including cutting-edge engineered wood products like cross laminated timber.”
Ric Sinclair, managing director of FWPA, said the demonstration building was an important learning tool to help builders and designers better understand the practicalities of using timber in taller buildings.
“Our partnership with Holmesglen TAFE is an excellent example of how industry and education providers can work together to ensure that new building design and construction techniques can go from the conceptual to the practical,” Mr Sinclair said.
“It will be invaluable for builders and consultants to use in explaining the principles of engineered timber construction to students, staff and clients.
“We are very pleased to have been able to work closely with the Australian Government to deliver this exciting project, which has been co-funded under FWPA’s voluntary matched funding system.”
