- A lighter building means less ground work and potentially lower whole of project costs
- Timber has many aesthetic and productivity benefits
- It's fire resistant qualities are much more significant than people may believe
Timber has gone from being the roast to the toast of the town as sustainability demands grow.
Building with timber has become more attractive both figuratively and literally – anecdotes from Western Australia’s latest timber masterpiece at Murdoch University saw many exploring the building, touching the timber, and even catching the aroma wafting through the air.
Property Council WA Executive Director Sandra Brewer said:
“WA has notable examples of mass-engineered timber-built projects in WA, such as the Boola Katitjin building and Westralia Square II, both of which have set a standard for design, sustainability and innovation.”
“As timber construction evolves and becomes a more established practice in WA, it is valuable to look abroad at international examples such as the Tokyo Olympic Facility where timber construction enabled better long-term built form outcomes through the adaptive reuse of materials.”
“With Western Australia’s strong history in forestry, we should continue efforts made to establish timber plantations to supply the hardwood needed for sustainable, low-carbon timber construction in the future.”
The Property Council WA recently held its Talking Timber Breakfast, with Aurecon’s Pratik Shrestha delivering the keynote, and a panel including Multiplex’s Jamie Cook, Nikken Sekkei’s Ikumi Inoue, Advanced Timber Concepts Studio’s Patrick Beale, moderated by Built’s Kaitlyn Davidson.
Delivering sustainable outcomes
Pratik Shrestha, Associate, Buildings Structures, Aurecon, delved into some of the benefits and misconceptions about timber buildings.
Among the most striking comparisons made – wood can fare better than steel in fires.
Shrestha noted in some circumstances, steel can buckle under a raging fire, whereas timber maintains structural integrity, only appearing charred on the outside.
Using the example of throwing a solid log onto a campfire, the outside may be black and crumble by morning, but internally, the timber remains structurally sound and solid.
Timber also carries with it a multiplicity of benefits across construction, cost, and care.
Why care? Some research has shown that individuals being cared for and recovering in timber buildings were found to have recovered faster. The product has a natural beauty and ‘glow’, with studies also finding it to increase the productivity of occupants.
The cost benefits might not be immediately obvious, but experts reminded people to consider the project as a whole.
Shrestha highlighted the fact the Murdoch building utilised circa 3,000 tonnes of timbre, whereas the equivalent building in concrete would require some 9,000 tonnes of concrete.
In the following panel, the cost-benefit of timber was further explored, noting that a lighter structure would require less by way of foundations and similar, making for savings within the order of 20%.
The sustainability aspect was also clear: carbon is trapped in the timber. Furthermore, Shrestha noted, regarding the Murdoch project, the timber used in the project had already been regenerated.
The panel also explored other benefits of the material including adaptive reuse.
The Tokyo Olympics was a prime example, with timber from around the nation used within the Olympic precinct subsequently brought back to the locales from which they came to become part of public infrastructure including benches and other public buildings.
The panel spoke about the possibility that timber buildings could simply be disassembled, transported, and rebuilt in another location.
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Disclosure: The Property Tribune was an invited guest of the Property Council to the breakfast.
