Stora Enso’s CLT business expanding to Australia
“The Australian construction industry is well used to working with wood, and CLT has recently been gaining a lot of attention from construction companies due to its many advantages. The Docklands Library and Community Centre is an excellent example of how wood, and especially CLT, can deliver added value as a construction material. CLT can reduce construction time by one-third, and wood has the advantages of being a sustainable construction material,” says Matti Mikkola, SVP, Building Solutions, Stora Enso Building and Living.
Because of the light weight of CLT, only a limited amount of additional piling and repairs of the old timber posts were required, which considerably reduced the cost of the project.
The Docklands Library and Community Centre will be the centrepiece of Victoria Harbour’s new civic heart and will house a next generation library and community centre, which will on completion attract millions of visitors annually. The major structural components of the three-storey library are made from more than 500 m³ of CLT, which was produced at Stora Enso’s Ybbs and Bad St. Leonhard units in Austria and shipped to Australia at the beginning of February. Deliveries of the CLT elements to the site commenced in mid-April and the estimated erection time is 6–8 weeks. The centre is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013 and to open its doors to the public by March 2014. It was designed by Clare Design and Hayball architects, an award-winning architectural team.
“This building will be a great start for CLT construction in Australia and a natural extension to our business in Australia, where Stora Enso has been operating for more than ten years through four distribution centres around the country,” notes Matti Mikkola.
The Docklands Library and Community Centre is an important urban development and will deliver a number of sustainable initiatives. The building facade is to be clad with reclaimed hardwood timber, and a Five-Star Green Star rating under the Green Building Council of Australia is targeted. The Docklands Library and Community Centre is being built on a wharf originally designed in 1879.
“Lend Lease has a proud history of landmark innovations in sustainable construction and the Docklands Library and Community Centre demonstrates how we are, once again, leading the way. CLT is one of the most significant forms of innovation in construction technology that Australia has seen in many years. It is transforming the building and construction industry by introducing a more efficient and environmentally friendly construction process and we look forward to working with Stora Enso into the future,” says Andrew Nieland, Business Development Manager for Lend Lease’s Timber Solutions Business.
