The Wood Processors and Manufacturers’ Association (WPMA) in New Zealand knows that standardised, good quality information helps the wider construction sector confidently design with and approve timber structures using the many new engineered timber solutions available today. It will release the final guides in a series later this year. Source: Timberbiz
“New Zealand is a leader in timber construction,” Andy Van Houtte, CPeng, Manager for the series of 16 Timber Design Guides said.
The first of the series was published in 2018, and the final ones will be released later this year.
“New Zealand has a lot of intellectual property around designing in timber,” he said. “And the WPMA is keen to provide a one stop shop for developers, architects, engineers and the wider construction industry, with freely available peer reviewed information.
“That way, we believe we can provide a clear framework for everyone to understand the relative advantages of different aspects of timber construction, and how to maximise a project’s structural integrity and cost effectiveness while still complying with NZ Standards and the NZ Building Code.
“To be most useful, we need this to be a trans-industry project that provides a clear path to consenting and construction.”
Industry surveys and market research confirmed which aspects of timber design professionals were most interested in learning more about.
Each Timber Design Guide was then written by a recognised expert in the field and peer reviewed through a highly qualified working group.
The nine topics covered to date include:
- designing for fire safety,
- designing for prefabrication,
- the consenting process for timber buildings,
- how to cost them,
- standard connection details,
- how to work safely with prefabricated frames and trusses,
- explaining the varied properties of timber species,
- why timber benefits the environment, and
- timber’s social and health benefits in construction.
Under way are explanations of flooring and cassette systems, acoustics, reinforcing timber beams, post and beam timber buildings, construction guidance, and seismic performance of timber buildings.
As they have been completed, the guides will be uploaded to a dedicated website https://nzwooddesignguides.wpma.org.nz
This allows public access through a log-in function.
Ultimately, Mr Van Houtte is hoping for 20,000 registrations; about 90% of all New Zealand specifiers. The Guides can be supplied in a printed format but most are using the web function as required, and downloading information.
