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View 2010 Awards entries and vote for your favourite! Print E-mail

6-Aug-2010

Voting has opened for the 2010 People's Choice Award! Members of the public may view all entries into the 2010 Australian Timber Design Awards (ATDA) and vote online for whichever entry they like best. The Awards features a very eclectic field of entries this year, so we're certain you'll find a project that suits your taste. And voting is easy: just click on images to view the projects, select the project you like best, and click the Vote button. Try it now!

Although the public chooses the winner of the People's Choice Award, the expert ATDA judging panel will determine all other winners. The winner of the People's Choice Award will be announced on October 29, shortly before the announcement of the Overall ATDA winner.

 
Awards submission deadline extended Print E-mail

9-Jul-2010

The Australian Timber Design Awards (ATDA) submission deadline has been extended to July 30! This gives those architects and design professionals still working on their submissions a little extra time to get their entries in.

This change accommodates the many requests from architects for a couple of extra weeks in which to track down missing images and confirm timber certification. Veterans of architectural awards know that the final week before a cutoff date can be frantic. The Timber Design Awards organising committee hope this change has made things a little easier on participants.

So if you've got what you think could be a winning project, head across to the ATDA website, check out the entry categories (something there for everyone), and fill out a registration form today. July 30 is approaching fast!

 
Wood Solutions 2010 Print E-mail

12-Apr-2010

Wood Solutions 2010 is a one day forum, sponsored by Wood. Naturally Better, for building design professionals. It features innovative and inspirational presentations by leading international and local speakers on the structural and aesthetic use of wood. Visit the Wood Solutions 2010 website and be sure to pencil these dates into your diary:

  • Wood Solutions 2010 Sydney: September 7, 2010 @ Dockside, Darling Harbour
  • Wood Solutions 2010 Melbourne: September 9, 2010 @ Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
  • Wood Solutions 2010 Brisbane: September 15, 2010 @ State Library of Queensland
 
Entries open for the 2010 Australian Timber Design Awards! Print E-mail

26-Mar-2010

The Australian Timber Design Awards (ATDA), now entering the 11th year of competition, have announced that entry for 2010 is now open.

Big news this year is that the 2010 ATDA will, for the first time, allow entries to be entirely submitted online. No more poster boards and bubble wrap: entrants will instead upload their images and project descriptions via the password protected Awards Submission Facility on the ATDA website.

Another big change for 2010 is an expanded set of entry categories. There are now 7 primary entry categories, all building related, including a new category, Interior Fitout - Residential. There are separate Sustainable Design awards for residential and commercial projects, and a new Best Use of Recycled Timber award. A special category for Best Timber Joinery or Furniture Element has also been added; and there's even a dedicated award - the Australian International Project Award - for projects designed by Australian residents but built overseas.

Following the success of the introduction in 2009 of Regional Awards, there will, once again, be regional presentations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. The national winners will be announced at a gala timber industry event in Sydney on Friday 29th October.

Get started by reading through the entry categories: we're certain you'll find a category to suit your project. Then, when you're ready to begin your submission (you may modify it at any time up until the close of entries), enter the 2010 ATDA!

 
Weathertex signs up for Sustainability Advantage Print E-mail

22-Mar-2010

TDA announces Weathertex the first company to join the wood products business cluster as part of the NSW Government's Sustainability Advantage Program. More in this media release.

 
Structures from Plantation Hardwood Rounds Print E-mail

14-Nov-2009

An extensive new timber resource from very economical, small diameter plantation hardwood rounds will be available for commercial use in the near future.

Opportunities to utilise this resource in a number of value added applications including small and medium scale structures such as park shelters, shade structures, noise barriers and light industrial buildings are being investigated including applications using steam bending technology.

A preliminary investigation by the University of Queensland, School of Architecture and Queensland Primary Industries & Fisheries has developed design concepts for a range of these applications. You can review these concepts here.

As potential designers, specifiers or purchasers of these and similar structures, we seek and value your preliminary assessment of the potential to take these opportunities further towards reality via more detailed R&D and commercial development.

By reviewing the concepts and completing a very short on-line survey by Wednesday 25 November, you will assist us appreciably in this endeavour and be in the running to win a $200 timber incentive pack.

View Concepts           Complete Survey

Please forward this email to your colleagues
who may have an interest in this area


Complete this survey by Wednesday 25 November to be in the running to win a $200 timber incentive pack comprising
Timber Queensland Professional 8 m tape, Wood in Australia by K R Bootle, Timber Queensland's Handy Span Table Book (Non-Cyclonic), Trees that Call Australia Home by J Halkett, Timber Stairs, Balustrades and Handrails Manual and Construction Timbers in Queensland

This survey has been produced by and has the support of the following organisations:
 
Timber is tops for environmentally friendly commercial buildings Print E-mail
Increasing the amount of timber used in large-scale commercial buildings can decrease some environmental impacts of the building, according to a New Zealand Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry (MAF) study.

The research project, Environmental Impacts of Multi-Story Buildings Using Different Construction Materials, modelled the life cycle energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions of four similar office building designs that used different materials as their main structural element: concrete, steel, timber and 'timber-plus'. The latter also used wood-based non-structural elements.

Results indicated that of the four, the 'timber-plus' building had the lowest net environmental impact, producing 4571 tonnes CO2 equivalent while the steel building had the highest net impact producing 6,789 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Timber was second lowest (5,454 tonnes), followed by concrete (6,627).

MAF Sector Performance Director Iain Cossar says the study provides valuable information on the life cycle environmental impact of various construction materials and the benefits of maximising the use of wood.

"The report also fills an information gap concerning how much wood can be used in the construction and fit-out of commercial, large-scale buildings in New Zealand. It shows that increasing the use of timber can decrease the total energy consumption and environmental impact of the building over its 60 year lifetime.

"In addition, the study found that from a technical point of view, a commercial building of up-to six stories could feasibly be constructed on a timber structure, something that does not typically happen in New Zealand."

The study considered the full life cycle of the buildings including the initial embodied energy of the materials used, maintenance, transport, operational energy and end-of-life scenarios. All four buildings were designed for a 60-year lifespan and were based on the design of an actual six-storey concrete building.

The research used Life Cycle Assessments which measure the environmental impacts associated with a product, process, or activity by identifying energy and materials used and wastes released through the course of a product's life-span.

The study was led by researchers from the University of Canterbury and included work by Crown Research Institute Scion and Victoria University of Wellington.

The project reports can be found on MAF's website www.maf.govt.nz/forestry/publications.
 
World's Largest Shake Table Test Print E-mail
In Miki City, Japan, Simpson Strong-Tie made history today. Along with Colorado State University and researchers in Japan, Simpson Strong-Tie participated in the world's largest earthquake shake table test. The July 14th test was the strongest of three tests performed on a seven-story, full-scale condominium tower -- simulating a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. Initial test results indicate the building sustained only minimal damage (mainly cosmetic), showing that wood-frame buildings of this size can withstand major earthquakes. The seven-story tower was outfitted with Simpson Strong-Tie products, including steel special moment frames on the first floor with Anchor Tiedown Systems (ATS) and metal connectors to restrain the six stories of wood above.

To view photos and video clips of the NEESWood Capstone tests, visit www.strongtie.com/about/research/capstone.html
 
New "Wood and the low carbon economy" film Print E-mail

31-Mar-2009

Wood for Good wood for good have launched a new film to support the Wood CO2ts Less campaign. The film promotes the low carbon revolution and the part wood has to play for construction and energy generation. It shows how using more wood is a simple way of helping to build the low carbon economy that is vital to the fight against climate change.

View the new "Wood and the low carbon economy" film.

 
Trees that call Australia home: A new book by John Halkett, available now! Print E-mail

13-Feb-2009

ImageTrees that Call Australia Home is a spiritual, cultural, environmental and economic celebration of Australian trees - trees that, according to author John Halkett are increasingly vital as humanity searches for solutions to climate change, renewable energy and more sustainable lifestyles in the 21st century.

Despite being thought of as 'the wide brown land' Australia has a diverse, unique and precious heritage of trees and forest communities. "Their contribution to our welfare and sense of what it is to be Australian is immense," says Mr Halkett.

The ghost gums and baobabs of the outback, the tropical rainforests, the spectacular Victorian mountain ash, the majestic karri and jarrah of Western Australia and the diverse eastern eucalypts, are all among "the trees that call Australia home."

"More recently, they have been joined by introduced pines, which with native trees form the basis of an expanding tree plantation estate," he said.

Trees that Call Australia Home makes the case that together with the Southern Cross, Uluru and Sydney Harbour Bridge, the gum tree is quintessentially Australian. From the early days of European settlement to the mud and blood of Gallipoli, to the cosmopolitan society of the 21st century, it has, the book says remains a defining symbol of Australia and its sense of identity.

The book details how the forests of Australia, manipulated and perpetuated by Aboriginal fire stick farming, were initially regarded as an obstacle to European settlement and destroyed on a dramatic scale. However, trees soon became recognised as an economic catalyst in the fledgling British colony and their contribution to economic well-being continues to this day.

"Trees have been fundamental to human life, to economic welfare and to cultural and spiritual development since time immemorial," says Mr Halkett.

"It is apparent that trees must play a more central role in confronting issues like climate change, resource depletion and renewable energy in the decades ahead."

In saluting the amazing qualities, geographic spread, botanical complexity and the special Australianness of our trees and their forest homes, Trees that Call Australia Home recognises the importance of trees to continuing human existence and survival in Australia and across the globe.

To order a copy, call 02 9279 2366 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 
2008 Timber Design Awards Winners Announced Print E-mail
The winners' list for the 2008 Australian Timber Design Awards is out! Winners and finalists were announced on November 18 at the Sebel Citigate, Brisbane. The overall winner was Peter Stutchbury Architecture for the inspired Outcrop House.

See the Timber Design Awards website for a full list of category winners and runners-up.
 
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