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Over the past year we've looked at the advances in engineered timber, as well as why and how Australia's poised to build timber buildings bigger and better. We now turn our attention to the use of timber in a more common application - as an exterior wall material in the context of large, non-residential projects.
The seed for this growth in Australia can be traced back to H20 Architect's RMIT University Textile Facility, which re-examined attitudes to the use of timber for larger scale institutional and commercial applications.
According to Tim Hurburgh, Director of H20, the key benefits of using timber are:
* Flexibility in use, as it can be made into various forms and profiles
* Adaptability, as it can be equally adapted to offsite or factory construction
* Technically simple, as it utilises simple, tried and proven construction and erection technologies
* Lightweight, making it easy to transport and handle
* Aesthetics. As a naturally warm material, timber's primary benefit could be its departure from all other aesthetic choices. Timber facades can also be creative, and used to addvisual interest and help a building tell its story
* Low carbon footprint. As a plantation material it is inexpensive to grow, harvest and prepare for commercial applications
Sustainability of timber extends to thermal performance
As the industry grows increasingly concerned about carbon footprints and the environmental impact of buildings, the sustainable properties of timber has become one of its key selling points. The Meditationand Indigenous Cultural Centre at Bentleigh Secondary College by dwp|suters is one project which used wood because of its low embodied energy and carbon sequestration principles.
Meditation and Indigenous Cultural Centre at Bentleigh Secondary College by dwp|suters
However, timber's 'sustainability' extends to more than production and carbon storage advantages. It is also a material with natural thermal properties that can maximise the efficiency of insulation materials, says Clinton Skeoch, national market development manager at Boral Timber.
"Timber is a...