Timber construction has been experiencing a renaissance of sorts in recent years. Driven primarily by concerns surrounding the looming threats of climate change, architects and their clients are becoming increasingly interested in resource-efficient and sustainable construction offered by this classic material, reimagined and enhanced through modern advances in engineered timber and digital fabrication. Not only does timber have unique tactile, olfactory and visual qualities that give spaces increased warmth but its strength-to-weight ratio, excellent acoustic properties, high malleability in fabrication and efficiency in transport make it a very attractive for multi-story construction. This is demonstrated by the growing number of high-rise buildings around the world that feature timber as well as several award-winning projects right here, in Western Australia, and Timberbuilt Australia was instrumental in bringing these to fruition.
Founded in 1982, Timberbuilt was conceived as a reaction against the declining use of timber in commercial projects since the 1950’s. It was evident that timber could fulfil a great variety of building needs beyond single house scale, but new structural systems, materials, and fabrication technologies would have to be developed to make this possible. In the 2000’s, with the acquisition on new German fabrication equipment and increased investment in building information modelling (BIM) technologies, Timberbuilt expanded its capabilities. This allowed for greater precision and the ability to manufacture longer structural spans as well as opening the possibility of deploying traditional woodworking connections in large structural systems through the use of digital fabrication, increasing material and installation efficiency.
Ravensthorpe Cultural Precinct. Picture: Daniel Giuffre
The investment in advancing the craft of timber engineering and construction can be seen in hundreds of projects dotted all around Australia with some buildings that have structural free spans exceeding 40 meters and plan areas as large as 26,000 square meters. But beyond technical engineering achievements, Timberbuilt has made strides in helping architects and clients also achieve high-quality architectural outcomes. Several landmark projects have been constructed in Western Australia in recent years, winning prestigious awards and reigniting interest and confidence in the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of commercial timber buildings.
Ravensthorpe Cultural Precinct. Picture: Peter Hobbs
One of these is The Pingelly Recreation & Cultural Centre (PRACC)1, located just two hours south-east of Perth. Completed in 2019, it was the largest timber building in WA since WWII and the largest civic building since the 1920’s. Utilising advancements in prefabrication, components were made off-site and transported to Pingelly for efficient assembly. PRACC has garnered numerous accolades, including the prestigious Australian Institute of Architects George Temple Poole Award, the World Architecture Festival award for Best Use of Timber and the 2020 Architizer A+ Architecture award. Another recent landmark is the Ravensthorpe Cultural Precinct2 - a winner of Jeffrey Howlett Award for Public Architecture and the Wallace Greenham Award for Sustainable Architecture. Completed in 2023, it is a 3000 square meter community building with large internal courtyards with exposed timber elements including large-span prefabricated timber portal frames comprising a larger modular structural system.
A large part of Timberbuilt’s success in WA is the ongoing support of its parent company, Kilmore Group. Over the last four years, Timberbuilt has benefited from the sharing of Kilmore resources. This relationship is set to continue as Timberbuilt completes the relocation of its state-of -the-art fabrication facilities to Osborne Park in a strategic move to enhance efficiency and expand the range of deliverables to meet the rising demand for quality timber construction services in Western Australia.
Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre. Picture: Patrick Beale
For past and future collaborators, builders and developers, the restructuring means a better delivery method of timber buildings that will optimise efficiency from design to production, increase transparency and the ability to deliver competitively priced timber construction solutions. Rather than being an outlier, commercial timber buildings are set to become the norm with quickly advancing innovations in mass timber, allowing for more efficient delivery and a larger volume of sustainable construction. These transformations are already happening at a rapid pace in Europe and Canada signalling an opportunity for Australia to join those leaders in this field.
With the growing pressure to push the economy toward more sustainable modes of production involving the use of sustainable materials, lifecycle management, and more efficient delivery methods that save time, resources, and capital - it is important for local government and industry leaders to recognise and support the emerging commercial timber construction sector in Western Australia. Holistically, we must become industry innovation leaders rather than passive consumers of materials and technologies developed and brought to us from overseas. The potential to transform the future of construction and living begins here.
For more information about Timberbuilt Australia’s services and new home, please visit Timberbuilt Australia or contact its office directly.
[1] - Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre (PRACC)
Architects: IPH and Advanced Timber Concepts (ATC)
Engineer: Bill Smalley from Scott Smalley Partnerships
Builder: Sime Building
[2] - Ravensthorpe Cultural Centre
Architects: Peter Hobbs Architects, Advanced Timber Concepts (ATC) and Intensive Fields
Engineer: Bill Smalley from Scott Smalley Partnerships
Builder: Devlyn Construction
