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Architects - or building designers - and engineers are often the two drivers of material specification in small residential building projects (material specifications in large multiresidential and commercial projects are usually more complex). Here, Nicolas Pratt presents an architect's perspective.

WOOD: art design architecture, the exhibition has been co-curated by Brian Parkes and Elliat Rich, supported by the Commonwealth Government's Contemporary Touring Initiative and is principally sponsored by Wood. Naturally Better.™

Differentiate yourself with an expanded design offering to potential clients, give your career a boost or simply broaden your knowledge about using our only large scale renewable building material. It's as easy in enrolling in the course below...

The Building Designers Association of Victoria is an industry body which acts for building design professionals. It is managed by a committee of volunteers from amongst the membership, whose objective is to advance the profession of building design, by offering cost-effective, quality, membership services and benefits. The Association has more than 1,900 members (at March 2013).

Here's a research report that outlines the design of a 42 storey timber tower, using a system described as the “Concrete Jointed Timber Frame. This free download 72 page document is recommended reading for anyone interested in more sustainable tall structures.

WoodSolutions will be at designEX in Melbourne - the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre - from Thursday May 30th to Saturday June 1st. WoodSolutions is also a sponsor of the co-located 2013 Australian Institute of Architects National Conference.

As part of keeping the WoodSolutions website interesting, informative and inspirational, we'll be running a series of occasional blog posts from people working with timber. In this blog, Brisbane engineer Amy Cook talks about designing with timber. If you're interested in writing a blog post for WoodSolutions, please contact us.

Architects Andrew Waugh and Michael Green, both of whom have been keynote speakers at WoodSolutions Seminars, discuss very tall timber buildings.

This is a New England design competition for engineered timber or massive timber building systems. If you know of any timber specific design competitions or projects, please contact us. Note that this competition is restricted to current engineering, architecture or design students or graduates within the last ten years.

Lack of relevant knowledge is often cited as the main reason why architects, engineers, building designers and other construction professionals don't design and specify the use of more timber. Similarly, many in the wood and wood products industry lack the depth of knowledge to adequately advise design and build clients. This course is a welcome addition to the career development options of both groups.

With most of the news stories about cross laminated timber (CLT) focussing on how big and how high, it's easy to forget that CLT panels can be a simple substitute for the well known and used tilt slab concrete construction system. Here's an example:

WoodSolutions Tutorials have proved popular among architects, building designers, engineers and other building professionals. Now, WoodSolutions is partnering with the Building Designers Association of Victoria to offers a dedicated Masterclass series.

WoodSolutions Tutorials are informative, inspiring ways to increase your knowledge of wood and wood products - and gain CPD or CPE points. Written by specialists for architects, engineers, building designers and other building professionals, the monthly Tuesday Tutorials are presented by the Timber Development Association.

The Universities of Auckland, Canterbury and Technology, Sydney (backed by a consortium including FWPA) have now completed a 5 year collaborative research program into new timber systems for commercial buildings. The result is a range of world leading new timber technology suitable for large span commercial, industrial and residential buildings. New timber systems include post stressed beam and frame systems, large span floors, roof systems and new timber connectors.

The CREE system is a hybrid timber construction system that aims to minimise the use of energy and resources over the life of the structure. It's a modular system said to be suitable for a wide range of applications. Read more or download an information brochure by following the link below.

When the devastating twin earthquakes shook Christchurch, one of the iconic buildings to topple in February 2011 was the 19th Century cathedral. Today, the original cathedral site is still rubble, while a 'temporary' structure of 96 LVL reinforced cardboard tubes, polycarbonate sheeting and 8 shipping containers is rising nearby.

Some structures achieve iconic status after years of use, others upon completion, yet some, such as the Barentshus Tower achieve a degree of fame before they are even built. First announced in 2010, the Barentshus Tower apparently remains firmly on the drawing board.

Vancouver architect Michael Green, a leading proponent of wood, has designed what will be North America’s tallest wood-framed building, in Prince George, northern British Columbia. Michael has toured Australia as a keynote presenter at WoodSolutions Seminars.

An extension of the University of Tasmania's School of Architecture & Design, the Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood, (CSAW) grew out of the School’s successful Timber Research Unit and is active in research and education.

When most people think of engineered timber building systems, CLT is probably the first thing that comes to mind. There are however a range of other exciting options in use around the world. This X-Lam project is an excellent example of a multi-residential housing project.

Shigeru Ban is principal of Japan's Shiregu Ban Architects and Professor of Art and design at Kyoto University. He has won international acclaim an many awards for his works in wood and wood products - including cardboard.

The development, which is designed by Anderson Bell & Christie, is a flagship project funded by the Scottish Government to demonstrate the suitability of mass timber structure and the benefits of renewable technologies.

As part of informing and inspiring design and building professionals, WoodSolutions supports a range of activities, including field trips. This is an outstanding opportunity to discover EXPAN - and exciting new development in timber construction.

TimberLife, the timber service life software, is an educational resource designed to provide estimates of timber service life performance.