Local timber innovation gathers momentum

Smaller design guidelines have been prepared onFabrication and Finishing of EXPAN Structural Elements,Durability Performance of Engineered Timber EXPANbuildings, and Timber Rivets for Connections in LVLtrusses. Timber rivets offer strength, time and costsavings on a timber build –approximately $30,000 insavings in the Carterton Events Centre Construction -and this design guide (to be launched in 2013) will makeit easier to incorporate them into building design.STIC’s work is also getting increasingly recognisedinternationally – evident at a global gathering ofresearchers, engineers and designers at the WorldConference on Timber Engineering (WCTE) in Aucklandin July.STIC Researchers from the University of Canterbury,Auckland Uniservices Ltd (University of Auckland) andThe University of Technology, Sydney made a significantcontribution to the conference, presenting some 30presentations and posters.Professor Pierre Quenneville, STIC Research ObjectiveLeader and WCTE Technical Programme Chair, says hereceived numerous comments at the conference thatNew Zealand is leading the way in timber engineering.“The rest of the world is now waking up to NewZealand’s recent advances in low-damage seismicdesign of timber structures. Conventional designphilosophy is based around an acceptance of somestructural failure, where people get out safely in anearthquake, but the building is not able to be saved, ormajor repairs deem it uneconomic to fix or unusable fora long time.“It was clear from the conference that the EXPANbuilding system is currently the only one in the worldthat offers the certainty of low-damage design usingengineered timber.”So, it’s been quite a ride for STIC in the last few months,with momentum gathering here, and around the world,on the value of its research programme and commercialdevelopments.“And we’re looking forward to seeing even more EXPANbuildings go up around the country in coming months, “Dr Finch says, “And perhaps even further afield, as wordspreads about our timber building system that’s foundedon research and development from some of the world’sforemost timber engineering experts. It’s really excitingto be part of the global push towards building in timber.”