First Timber Arrives at the World’s largest Engineered Timber Office Building

The first delivery of cross laminated timber (CLT) columns, beams and floor panels have arrived at Brisbane Showgrounds for what’s set to be the world’s largest and tallest engineered timber office building, 25 King.

At a height of almost 45 metres, the ground plus nine-storey Bates Smart-designed tower includes services provided by global engineering firm Aurecon as well as three bespoke retail tenancies. Owned by Impact Investment Group the innovative building will also be the future home of Aurecon, with the company committing to lease four of the nine office floors.

General Manager for Lendlease Building, Tony Orazio said construction of 25 King was well underway with the installation of the first pre-assembled modules taking place.

“As the world’s largest and tallest engineered timber office building, 25 King will be one
of the most exciting additions ever made to Brisbane’s skyline.

“A key element of 25 King’s structure is the use of prefabricated modules for each floor. These modules are pre-assembled at ground height and then lifted into place to form what looks like a wooden lego structure,” said Mr Orazio.

“The fascinating thing about building with timber is that its strength is akin to concrete and steel, it can be produced economically in a factory environment and most importantly boasts a plethora of sustainability benefits.”

A world first in sustainable architecture, 25 King is targeting a 6-star Green Star Design and As Built rating which will use 67 per cent less electricity and 55 per cent less potable water 2 and is targeting a WELL Core and Shell rating.

25 King will see six storeys above ground by mid-2018 and is due for completion in late 2018, with Lendlease developing and building the asset. Lendlease will continue to work with its partners to lease the approximately 7,900 square metres of remaining office space.

25 King is Lendlease’s fifth engineered timber building in Australia and joins International House Sydney, Forte Apartments and Library at The Dock in Melbourne, and Jordan Springs Community Hub in Western Sydney.

Lendlease is a partner in The Future Timber Hub, Australia’s leading timber research collaboration committed to challenging the barrier of timber construction by pursuing research-based strategies and innovative technologies to boost the timber industry.

Project Rundown

• 25 King comprised of 3,097 individual timber elements
• 33 timber columns on each floor and 52 beams
• CLT – approx. 21,175m2 or 4824m3 of CLT timber (Walls and floor)
• Glulam approx. 1415m3 (Beam and columns)
• Approximately 112,500 screws/bolts are required for the construction of 25 King.
• Six core modules and six K bracing modules to assemble per level.
• The project team has allowed two days to pre-assemble the modules in each floor cycle.
• A spruce tree is an exceptionally fast-growing species found in Austria. The time it will take in the Austrian forests to grow back the timber used on 25 King is as little as 6 hours in total.