55 Southbank Boulevard is a defining new landmark in Melbourne and the world’s tallest timber building extension, with a 10 storey cross laminated timber (CLT) structure sitting on top of an existing 1989 seven storey concrete building. Delivering the project in concrete and steel only allowed six storeys, making it uneconomical. In addition to being significantly lighter than concrete so providing an additional four storeys, using CLT also resulted in lower transport costs and therefore reduced carbon emissions. Due to offsite fabrication, including prefabricated modular hotel bathrooms, the time spent on site was significantly reduced. Sequestered within the timber itself is approximately 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of the annual carbon emissions of 130 homes. The use of this carbon negative material represents an opportunity to create a new paradigm in sustainable construction. The project has overcome significant technical challenges and we are lucky to be speaking with members of the project team.
Presenters:
Emma Russell Senior Engineer @WSP
Emma has over 12 years’ experience in the structural design of buildings. As well as analysis and design work, she has been involved in the detailed coordination and project development process advising clients, stakeholders and contractors. Projects include commercial, residential, retail and refurbishment in Australia and the UK.
Rob De Brincat
Business Development Manager @Icon
Rob De Brincat is a qualified civil/structural engineer almost 20 years’ experience across a range of different sectors within the Australian construction industry. Rob has spent the last 7 years working on the development and delivery of some of the most advanced timber and hybrid prefabricated building solutions available in the Australia construction markets. Rob has become one of Australia’s leading experts in prefabricated mass timber construction and is now a Business Development Manager at Icon. Rob’s current role is focused on developing new and existing markets for the Icon business, which includes breaking new ground in the design and delivery of new and innovative methods of construction.
Nathan Benbow
Associate @Vistek
For the past 5 years Nathan has been at the forefront of Mass timber in Australia. He lead the structural design on such landmark projects as 55 Southbank and Ceres House. Working on such challenging projects has given Nathan a great insight into how to best execute the design process to set up the rest of the build for success. Nathan is highly sought out as a speaker having presented both in Australia (Frame Australia, Woodsolutions) and internationally (Innesbruck 25th International Wood Construction Conference IHF2019).