NIOA Office Timber Tower - Built in a record 28 days!
A five-level bespoke office building has topped out in only 28 days – much less than the original period allowed for by the builder, Besix Watpac.
View ArticleCultural & Public, Commercial, Defence & Industrial
NIOA Timber Tower wins at QLD State Architecture Awards
The NIOA Timber Tower was honoured with The Beatrice Hutton Award for Commercial Architecture and a State Commendation for Sustainability, at this year's Queensland State Awards 2022.
Thank you to the jury and Institute for recognising our project and especially our client NIOA for undertaking this journey with us.
State Jury Citation:
This cleverly executed 5-storey cross laminated timber (CLT) structure was erected in less than a month through methodically planned prefabrication techniques. The Timber Tower was developed in direct response to the limited build time, fixed floor area, and the challenge of constructing in an occupied and operational site.
This experimental project is the first non-residential multi-storey commercial building in Australia with a full MET (Mass Engineered Timber) structure; wholly grown and sourced softwood from local Australian Softwood.” The design is a true demonstration of innovative decarbonisation in the building process and the added end-of-life benefits of enabling a complete disassembly and reassembly.
Innovatively drawing on residential construction techniques and material selection, the design has given the building an ambience and familiarity through its material selection of timber to door frames, detailed joinery, and wall linings. The benefits of CLT as the primary vertical structure enabled useable, column free floor area to be combined with the warmth of the exposed timber structure.
The siting of the building on the north-south axis optimises passive design outcomes for the workspaces, with generous windows filling each of the spaces and allowing for diffused daylighting to the interior. The Timber Tower maximises its 360-degree views across Brisbane Airport.
This project presents an alternative model for constricted program delivery, and as a whole offers a strong presence and unique structure that is nestled within a highly restricted and complex environment.
