By Jack Kyle
Thanks to a recent decision now allowing mid-rise residential buildings to be made of timber, a new affordable housing project called The Gardens is being built in Campbelltown, NSW. The development will consist of three towers, with a total of 101 apartments, including one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.
They recently imported 3,000 m³ of timber for the project. The timber being used is cross laminated timber, known as CLT. It took 78 shipping containers to carry all of the timber. Unlike many Tier 1 affordable housing projects, The Gardens is being built with no Government assistance.
The units are being built in a way that takes advantage of natural light and natural ventilation. Besides three towers, The Gardens will also include a cafe, a community facility, ample parking, broadband Internet service and individual security systems. The cost for a one bedroom apartment will be from $380,000-$390,000 and the cost for a two bedroom apartment will be from $430,000-$460,000.
CLT has only been used for individual homes, garages and smaller buildings in Australia, but it has been a popular choice for medium and mid-rise buildings in Europe and the US for more than 15 years.
CLT is made by gluing thin multiple layers of timber to each other crosswise, one vertical and the next horizontal, and then subjecting them to intense pressure. This creates a building material that exhibits performance characteristics nearly identical to those of steel, but weighing approximately 30% less.
Timber is a natural insulator, which is the opposite of steel, a conductor. That makes timber a more user-friendly material, saving on heating and cooling costs while keeping the temperature inside more consistent.
Timber is also much more environmentally friendly than steel and concrete. While steel and concrete both produce massive carbon footprints by the amount of greenhouse gases it takes to produce them, timber actually stores 800 kgs of carbon in every m³.
In addition, timber is easier to work with due to less weight and better workability. Timber requires less labour hours and the “build” is much faster. There is less waste around the site and it is more quiet. This disrupts the surrounding homeowners and their lifestyles less than a concrete and steel construction project. There is also less heavy equipment to hire.
Ultimately, timber is easier to work with, less expensive, requires less labour time and has less negative environmental impact than steel and concrete. This is why many see it is the future of affordable housing.
We are happy that mid-rise residential developments can now be built of timber. It will help produce housing that is not only more affordable, but provides a better lifestyle for renters and homeowners.
+ Jack Kyle is the owner of Narangba Timbers, timber suppliers in Brisbane.
