PROJECT REPORT: SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN 23
re-appearance signalling the beginning of the Māori New Year.
The ground floor is open to the public, with a cafe accessible to all. However the spaces this atrium sits between on the upper floors – where the collaborative scientific work spaces are located – are restricted, with secure access at the stairways and lifts. Even from downstairs, however, research work can be seen being carried out on the upper floors, bringing a lively bustle to the open plan-offices and collaboration spaces. However separation is provided from the surrounding noise thanks to private spaces and acoustically treated rooms. To achieve this, an innovative CLT acoustic partitioning system was developed for the meeting room spaces, further showcasing the use of engineered timber as a flexible and versatile material.
Expressing timber values It is obvious from only a brief glance at the building that its predominant material is timber. This is transparently obvious in the interior – primarily in the open mesh of the diagrid – but viewable from the extensive glazing of the external envelope. Other key uses of timber in the building include a lightweight composite CLT and LVL floor system (timber at ground level), exposed and cantilevered CLT stair elements within the three-level central atrium, overlay acoustic floors to promote acoustics and building servicing, and a simple ‘gang nail’ truss roof structure.
ADF MAY 2022
Timber was also used in many other parts of the interior, with the structural Radiata Pine being paired with locally grown exotic hardwoods like Tasmanian Blackwood for handrails and ‘leaners,’ along with Victorian Ash for screening elements. Radiata Pine is also used in the reception counter, with plywood panels CNC machined, layer by layer, to achieve an organically curving wood form – reminiscent of a fallen log in the forest. Even meeting room doors are made from CLT, routed with a simple pattern to reference the geometry of the diagrid structure.
According to the architects, such a broad expression of the material was key to the design of the project, with both the client and designers keen to “reveal its natural aspects,” and maximise the material’s inherent “visually warm and inviting nature.”
The raised acoustic floor system, for instance, achieves this by allowing flexible running of surfaces through the floor space, meaning that the CLT and LVL floor structure could be exposed and showcased.
Challenging structural stereotypes Perhaps the most important aspect of the timber design for the project, says Smith, is how the three-storey engineered timber diagrid “challenges stereotypes of timber structural buildings.” He says it “legibly demonstrates that timber structural buildings do not need to be designed like steel and concrete
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TRANSPARENTLY TIMBER
In addition to the open diagrid mesh, timber is also present in the composite CLT and LVL floor system, exposed and cantilevered CLT stair elements within the atrium, overlay acoustic floors, and the 'gang nail' truss roof
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