Mass Timber Construction in Australia and New Zealand—status, and Economic and Environmental Influences on Adoption

Abstract

Mass timber construction in Australia and New Zealand uses three main materials-laminated veneer lumber, glue laminated timber and cross-laminated timber (CLT). This article focuses on the use of mass timber in nonresidential construction-the use in single-family homes and apartments is not considered. In Australia and New Zealand, mass timber building technology has moved from being technologically possible to being a feasible alternative to reinforced concrete and steel construction. It has not taken over a large market share in either market and, as such, has not been a disruptive technology. The major changes in this market in the past 5-10 yr in Australia and New Zealand have been the development of new industrial capacity in CLT and the acquisition of computer controlled machining equipment to facilitate prefabrication of wooden building components. The development of new codes and standards and design guides is underway. The drivers of future growth in market share are expected to include more clients putting a higher weight on the various environmental benefits of building in wood, reduction in the real and perceived professional risk for builders and architects specifying mass timber construction, and fuller participation in the supply chain for timber buildings (from design to construction) by timber building specialists. Government policies to encourage the use of timber may also be helpful. Engineers and architects will continue to learn-through experience-how to optimize building construction methods to take advantage of the specific features and qualities of timber as a construction method.

Understanding the Use of Timber in Semi-Arid Regions: Kurdistan Region of Iraq, a Case Study

“…Notice that the last, availability in the market, was the most important characteristic the AEC industry in the KRI considered when choosing a construction material. This fact has been observed in other countries such as Australia, Iran, and South Africa [33][34][35].…”

“…Finally, it is worth mentioning that 14.58% of respondents chose structural performance, which could be related to a lack of knowledge and expertise. Notice that these barriers are common in semi-arid regions but not in the of the world [14,[33][34][35].…”

Promoting Construction Industrialisation with Policy Interventions: A Holistic Review of Published Policy Literature

“…Additionally, the inappropriate or even absence of design codes and standards for prefabricated components in industrialized buildings is identified as a critical political factor related to inefficient adoption and poor performance of CI [ 5 , 45 , 49 ]. Both developed and developing regions had issued regulations associated with building design codes compliance, such as the updated ‘Code of Practice for Precast Concrete Construction 2016′ announced by the HKBD [ 78 ]; the ‘precast concrete construction handbook’ prepared by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers [ 79 ]; the China State Council announcement [ 80 ]; 76 local codes for assembly building design issued by 24 provinces and autonomous regions [ 51 ] in Mainland China; EU policies about creation and harmony of building codes [ 66 ] in EU; and improvement of design guide and new codes and standards is proceeding in New Zealand [ 81 ] and Australia [ 82 ].…”

Consumer housing values and prejudices against living in wooden homes in the Nordic region

“…MSWB is expected to bring new business opportunities both for wood and building industries, increase resource-efficiency of the building processes and in the use of houses, and enhance well-being of builders and residents (Lähtinen et al 2016;Evison et al 2018;Rhee 2018). Due to industrialized processes (e.g., prefabrication, off-site production) (Brege et al 2013;Kuzman and Sandberg 2017) wood building may renew the whole construction sector (Stehn et al 2020), if companies have capabilities to adjust their strategies to meet the changing expectations in the business environment (Toppinen et al 2019).…”