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First public CLT building open

Australia’s first public building constructed using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), Melbourne’s Dockland library and community centre, has opened its doors to the public. Source: Timberbiz

The complex was built in partnership between the City of Melbourne, Places Victoria and Lend Lease.

The major structural components of the three-storey building are made from more than 500 cubic metres of CLT, produced at Stora Enso’s manufacturing facility in Austria and shipped to Australia.

One of the many advantages of building with CLT is the short construction time that, in the case of the Docklands project, was just two and a half months.

“The Australian construction industry is well used to working with wood, and CLT has recently been gaining a lot of attention from construction companies due to its many advantages.

“The Docklands library and community centre is an excellent example of how wood, and especially CLT, can deliver added value as a construction material,” said Matti Mikkola, vice president, building solutions, Stora Enso Building and Living.

The library and community centre complex has been constructed on a wharf originally designed in 1879. Because of the light weight of CLT, only a limited amount of additional pilings and repairs of the old timber posts were required, which also considerably reduced the cost of the project.

In addition to the advantages with speed and weight, there are also strong environmental arguments for CLT.

“CLT offers a sustainable alternative to conventional materials given its potential to be carbon negative,” said Andrew Nieland, head of timber solutions for Lend Lease.

“CLT is a lightweight, strong, solid wood and given its pre-fabricated nature drives efficiency improvements onsite.”

Setting new environmental standards, the Docklands complex achieved a 6 Star Green Star rating fromthe Green Building Council of Australia.

General manager of the Australian Timber Importers Federation congratulated Stora Enso Building and Living on their central role in the seminal Docklands project.

“The opening of the Docklands centre provides yet another example of the critical role being played in Australia by major timber product importing companies like Stora Enso in leading innovation in commercial and residential prefabrication,” he said.

“Maintaining this innovation in panel products like CLT and palletised wall and flooring systems will be essential as Australia’s commercial construction activity continues to ramp up and as residential housing construction nudges toward 200 000 starts a year.”

It is estimated that by 2030 Docklands will be a residential area for about 16 000 people.

Upon completion, the Docklands precinct is expected to attract 20 million visitors a year and to be a workplace for 40 000 people.