The Centre, hosted by NZ Wood, provides free concept feasibility advice, demonstrating the possibilities offered by modern wood construction technologies. Also, the Centre will provide general technical and engineering advice on the use of wood in non-residential buildings in addition to encouraging large scale wood construction options.

Participating engineering consultancies include four major firms; Beca, Aurecon, Opus, Holmes as well as specialists Mark Batchelar, Alistair Cattanach and Tony Loughnan.

At the launch, David Carter extended his gratitude to Professor Andy Buchanan, the Timber Design Society and NZ Wood for their long-standing commitment to providing expertise and services to this industry. He noted “Timber is unique as a construction material possessing benefits that other products can’t claim… Wood is sustainable, renewable and very energy efficient. It requires a tenth or less of the energy needed to make alternatives such as steel and concrete.”

As a Canterbury resident, The Hon Carter mentioned the devastation of the recent Darfield earthquake and how the recovery process represented an excellent opportunity for the timber industry. His closing words were “Again, congratulations on the launch of this project. I look forward to this initiative building on the strengths and the attributes of wood."

More information on the new NZ Wood Design Advisory Centre can be found on the NZWOOD website  http://www.nzwood.co.nz/design/